Sasuke requiem
by Darkloverkitsune
Summary: At the end of the faithful battle between Naruto and Sasuke, Itachi's chakra in Naruto leaks out and puts Sasuke through a genjutsu showing him an alternate reality of his life, changing his perspectives and feelings completely.
1. Prologue

Sasuke requiem

Drama/Romance : Itachi's chakra inside Naruto causes Sasuke to go through a genjutsu, showing him memories of an alternate reality, and changing him forever.

This story is greatly inspired by the manga, when Naruto says that Sasuke and him could have easily been standing in each other's shoes.

Warnings: Shounen-ai, yaoi, and OOCness but the reasons are explained

I own nothing.

Prologue

He stood in the clearing, panting, facing his opponent. The sky was getting darker. The wind was cold and fierce, hurting the injured bare skin of his torso. He swallowed hard, and, letting out a growl he ran toward the other young man, his katana raised.

Naruto countered with a kunai at the last second. As they sparred, he tried to figure out how much strength the blond shinobi still had left. Sasuke himself was out of chakra, he was completely exhausted, and was fighting only by sheer will. After using his ocular techniques so much, and then his lightning and fire elements techniques, his energy and chakra had left him.

Naruto had seen through all his illusions, and had countered each and every one of his attacks brilliantly. In Kyubi mode, or in Sage mode, he had impressed Sasuke so much by his talent and skill. He was no longer the clumsy twelve years old he used to know, that was for sure. As they crossed blades their eyes met. Deep blue eyes were looking dead serious, frowning at him. Sasuke pulled back his sword and attacked again, lending powerful blows, but it was useless. Naruto was evading and side-stepping them all.

He simply couldn't figure him out. Did Naruto have any chakra left? Possibly. Maybe he was holding back, not wanting to kill Sasuke. Even though they had just tried to kill each other for hours now… Or so it had seemed anyway. Apparently they hadn't tried hard enough…

Even though they were both hurt, nothing was fatal. They had both lost a lot of blood, and were exhausted, but no vital organ was damaged, no bone was broken.

Pushing his body to its limits, Sasuke managed to move even faster and the tip of his blade slashed Naruto's stomach before the latter could counter it. The blond stepped back and growled in pain, clutching his ripped and bloody shirt. His blue eyes darkened in frustration, and he produced two shadow clones. So he still had chakra after all…

Sasuke quickly moved back, anticipating the blond's attack. Sure enough, one of the clones attacked him while the other one was creating a rasengan. He slaughtered and got rid of the shadow clone easily enough, but Naruto hadn't lost any time. Sasuke gasped and threw himself on the side, evading the powerful rasengan by a split second.

He rolled on the ground and sat up, panting. He brushed his raven bangs away in annoyance, and looked up at Naruto. Then his dark eyes widened. The blond seemed in pain. He was down on his knees, hugging himself. He let out a pained gasp, and then raven birds literally appeared out of nowhere around him.

Immediately Sasuke's mind started racing. This was Itachi's chakra. But why was his brother's chakra coming out of _Naruto_? What the hell was going on?

"Naruto…" he started in a rasp voice.

But the blond couldn't even hear him. After the dark chakra had left his body, he fell to the ground. Sasuke frowned and got up to his feet painfully. He was about to walk up to Naruto, when everything around him disappeared. In its place were thousands of raven birds, and deep red fog all around him… Again, Itachi's chakra, of course.

Sasuke looked all around him in confusion, trying to break through the genjutsu, to understand what was going on. But then it was as if an invisible force hit him, and he fell on his back roughly, hitting his head on a sharp rock. Everything became black as he drifted to unconsciousness…


	2. Alternate reality

Chapter 1 – Alternate reality

"Naruto, you will be paired with Sakura," Iruka started. The pink-haired girl smiled shyly. Sasuke risked a glance at Naruto. His face was blank as always. "And Sasuke," their sensei finished.

Sakura squealed in delight. Sasuke remained silent and calm, but he was secretly glad to be paired with Naruto. As their sensei continued, he let his thoughts wander, thinking back about the tale Itachi had told him just a week ago.

Six years ago, Naruto had had the nine-tailed fox demon trapped inside of him. His father had sealed the demon in his son right before sacrificing himself for the sake of the village. Naruto's mother had died right after giving birth to her second son, and Naruto's brother, who unfortunately didn't survive either. The details of the tragedy were unknown, but Itachi had told him his theory.

He had said it was probably the work of Madara, an Uchiha ancestor. He had first tried to unleash the Kyubi twelve years ago, and after this failure, had tried again - successfully this time - six years ago, killing the entire Namikaze family, except for Naruto.

The villagers needed someone to blame, and in their misunderstanding had chosen to blame Naruto for everything, hating him because he had the Kyubi inside him. Naruto had become a bitter and sad child, and very lonely. And this made Sasuke sad. It simply wasn't fair that Naruto had to go through this all alone. But whenever he tried to smile at him, or to talk to him, Naruto pushed him away. Maybe, if Sasuke was in his team, it would be different now…

xxx

Their new sensei Kakashi was sitting in front of them, outside the academy, waiting for them to introduce themselves. Sakura was clad in a long red dress, and was playing with her long pink hair nervously. Sasuke frowned, wondering how this could possibly be an adequate outfit for a ninja. As for Naruto, sitting on his other side, he was wearing baggy pants and a simple t-shirt, all black, and he was glancing away unfocusedly, apparently bored as ever. His long blond bangs partly hid his face from Sasuke.

"Let's start with you, Sakura," Kakashi said, glancing at the young girl. "What are your likes and dislikes, and your motivation to become a ninja?"

"Right," she giggled, "hum… actually, I really like… my teammates, Naruto and Sasuke, because they are really cool," she risked a glance at them. Naruto didn't look back. Sasuke glanced at her sideways and made a little smile, out of pity. Her smile widened and she looked back at Kakashi. "That's pretty much it."

"…Okay. What about you, Sasuke?"

"I can't really say much about likes or dislikes," he answered, "but my motivation to become a ninja are to protect the village, and my family and clan, at the best of my abilities."

Kakashi smiled. "I am sure you will grow up to be as excellent a ninja as your brother, and I am proud to have you on my team."

"Thank you, sensei." He gave a slight nod.

"And what about you, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

Blue eyes darkened as they looked up at their sensei. "I also don't have much to say about likes or dislikes. As for my motivation, I wish to kill the man who unleashed the Kyubi and killed my family. And don't give me that natural disaster bullshit." He added before Kakashi could say anything. "I know it's what all the villagers think. But I was there. I know better."

He glanced away, and Sasuke repressed a shiver. Kakashi seemed unbothered, though, as if he had expected all that.

"All right, well my name is Hatake Kakashi. And well, that's all I'm saying. Anyway, we meet tomorrow morning at 5 am for a special training. Oh, and don't eat breakfast."

"Why?" Sakura frowned.

But Kakashi didn't answer, and in a cloud of smoke, he disappeared.

Naruto got up, shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away quickly, without so much as glancing at them.

"He is so mysterious," Sakura said dreamily. Then she turned to look at him and smiled. "Would you like to walk me home, Sasuke?"

He got up and shook his head slightly. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I'm gonna go train…"

"Oh, okay," she seemed disappointed. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Yeah," he said, and walked away.

xxx

The next day, Sasuke met up with Sakura and Naruto at 5 am, just like Kakashi had asked them. But the latter wasn't showing up…

"He is so late…" Sakura whined as she sat on the ground, yawning.

"I would definitely have slept longer," Sasuke agreed in a low voice.

"Yeah…" Naruto said. Their eyes met for a brief instant, and they exchanged a little smile. But then Naruto glanced away again.

Somehow the slightest smile from Naruto warmed Sasuke's heart.

About thirty minutes later, Kakashi finally arrived. After he made up some bullshit about getting lost in the village – seriously, someone needed to teach this guy to come up with better excuses – they moved on to the training grounds.

Kakashi showed them two small bells. "Your objective will be to get one of these from me. The two of you who succeed will officially become shinobi. The one who can't get a bell, will be sent back to the Academy."

Sasuke frowned. Beside him, Naruto was showing no sign of reaction, but he looked dead serious.

Sakura gasped loudly. "But we passed the exams! I thought we were already ninjas!"

Sasuke could have sworn Kakashi was smirking behind his stupid mask. "You have to pass this last test." He said simply. "It starts now!"

Naruto and Sakura immediately jumped and scattered, probably finding hiding spots in bushes or trees. Sasuke wondered if he should imitate them, but he figured it would pretty useless if all of them were just hiding and doing nothing. He didn't want to jump at Kakashi and attack though, that would be stupid and reckless.

He chose to produce a fire style attack, to engage the fight and see how Kakashi would counter. So he made the hand signs – while Kakashi had started reading a pornographic novel, it seemed – and sent fire balls at him.

His silver-haired sensei jumped back, evading all the fire balls, without even closing his book. Well that was embarrassing… He jumped in the nearest tree, and sent shurikens at him. He aimed at his arms and legs – he wasn't trying to kill the man after all.

But again, Kakashi dodged frustratingly easily. Sasuke might as well have really been trying to kill him; it probably wouldn't have made any difference…

Then Naruto jumped in. Sasuke decided to hide and stay back for now. Naruto produced shadow clones and attacked Kakashi straight on. His tai jutsu wasn't bad at all for a ninja straight out of the academy, and even Kakashi seemed impressed with the shadow clones. But still – he didn't even close his god damn book.

Actually, Kakashi seemed to disappear in the middle of the fight. Naruto released his clones, confused, and retreated as well, probably not wanting to stay in the open like this.

Sasuke forced himself to calm down and think. He had to get one of those bells; after all he wanted to live to his parents and especially his brother's expectations. He thought about various strategies he could use, with his shuriken or kunai skills, tai jutsu, fire style techniques…

While deep in thought he heard Sakura scream nearby. He gasped slightly and immediately ran toward the sound. She was his teammate now after all, so he wanted to make sure she was okay. He found her lying down on the ground. He frowned as he approached her and checked her vital signs. She was just unconscious; she didn't seem injured at all. Maybe Kakashi had tricked her, or frightened her or something…

He heard sounds of fighting nearby. He snapped his head toward it and approached, hiding in the bushes, looking down at the training grounds.

Naruto was giving it a try again. He had made shadow clones, and they were fighting with kunai knives. But it was useless. Kakashi – who had put his book away at least – destroyed all the clones. The real one suddenly appeared out of nowhere, right behind Kakashi. It was a good diversion, but their sensei saw right through it. He spun and caught Naruto's arm before he could strike with the kunai, and sent him flying in the water.

Sasuke's heartbeat fastened slightly, and he threw his own shuriken at Kakashi while he seemingly had his guard down. It looked like he caught him at first, but then his body transformed to a log. A replacement technique, of course, Sasuke thought. It couldn't be that easy.

After some more failed attempts from Naruto to fight Kakashi, and after Sakura had fainted a few more times – Sasuke didn't know what was wrong with that girl – it was already lunch time.

Kakashi called for a break. He had tied Naruto to a log, because he had tried to cheat or something like that. Kakashi didn't give much explanation. The blond ninja seemed incredibly frustrated and pissed, but he was silent. As for Sakura – who was now awake – and Sasuke, they were offered lunch, and told not to give any to Naruto.

"This training will continue after lunch." Kakashi finally said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Sakura started eating quietly. But Sasuke couldn't bring himself to eat. This whole thing was making him kind of nervous, and he didn't have much appetite. Naruto, on the other hand, seemed very hungry, and his stomach was noisy. Sasuke felt bad for him, thinking that it must be pretty humiliating.

"You can have some," he offered his lunch to Naruto. "I'm not hungry anyway, and I don't feel Kakashi's chakra around…"

Naruto's blue eyes widened slightly as he looked at him. Sakura was frowning, looking worried.

"It's not like you're gonna be very useful if you're hungry and weakened anyway," Sasuke added.

"I'm not hungry and weakened," he protested. Sasuke made a little smile. "Anyway," Naruto continued, "it would be nice, except I'm kinda tied up."

"I'll help you, you moron," he chuckled.

He was about to grab some food with his chopsticks when Kakashi made his – rather theatrical – appearance. With a frightening storm surrounding him, he approached them angrily. Sakura was scared. Naruto was frowning. Sasuke was… just confused, actually. What was up with this weird sensei dude?

"You pass," he eventually said.

The storm disappeared and he smiled behind his mask. Yes, very weird, Sasuke thought.

After that he told them about ninjas breaking the rules being trash, but ninjas who didn't help out their teammates being much worst than that. Kakashi then told them that he would give them a chance, since Sasuke had decided to give Naruto some food even though he had been ordered otherwise.

He told them where to meet the next morning, and disappeared again.

Sakura mumbled something about being very tired, worn out and weakened because not only had she skipped breakfast, but also the meals from the day before because she was on a diet. And then she left to go rest at home.

"On a diet at twelve years old, seriously," Sasuke shook his head in disbelief as he cut the ropes to untie Naruto.

He chuckled. "Thanks. And yeah she's kinda weird. And I mean she wasn't really fighting…"

"No… Hey about that I was wondering… Do you wanna train together?" he asked shyly.

He wasn't very sociable. The only person he had ever trained with outside of school was Itachi. But he figured, it was worth a try asking Naruto.

"Yeah, sure," he answered.

They decided to stay at these training grounds since they were unoccupied at the moment anyway. They finished eating lunch first – Sasuke had found his appetite again – and then they started training. Actually, it ended up being more Sasuke who helped Naruto out. He didn't mind though, it was practice for him at the same time. He helped the blond with his thai jutsu techniques.

Naruto's strength was that he was really unpredictable, and his basic technique was good. But his movements weren't swift and precise enough. So they fought together, Sasuke giving him advice at the same time. He was surprised to see how fast Naruto learned. At school, the teachers and other students had always kind of left him out, not wanting to be involved with the kid who had the demon fox inside him. But Sasuke didn't care about that. Naruto had a personality of his own, he wasn't the fox itself.

Evening came very fast – both hadn't seen time pass by. They were exhausted from all the training, but content. Sasuke actually felt good, it somehow felt like he had made a friend. It was childish, maybe, but hey he was twelve, he could allow himself to be a little childish once in a while. Not that he would actually ask him to be his friend or anything, now that would be lame.

"I should head back," he told him. "My mother will be really pissed if I skip dinner, "he chuckled. "You know, parents…"

Then he realized his mistake. God damn it, he really was stupid. But to his surprise Naruto let out a little laugh.

"Don't make that face. It's not like I'm gonna break down and cry every time someone mentions their family."

"…Right," Sasuke said.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," he smiled. It was a really beautiful smile, and Sasuke realized he had never seen this guy smile like that before. "Thank you for the training," he added.

"No problem," he smiled back.

They headed back home in silence, and they parted, Sasuke going toward the Uchiha clan section of the village.

xxx

Ever since that day, Naruto had become a good friend to him. They were somewhat rivals at the same time, playfully fighting once in a while to see who was stronger. But they were pretty much equals, actually. On missions, they always tried to show off to the other. It annoyed Kakashi a little, but he didn't mind, since it encouraged them to become stronger. As for Sakura, she was delighted and in adoration before her team mates. There was no change there, really. But when situations got dangerous, they always had each other's back, protecting each other against deadly enemies.

During the Chuunin exams, Orochimaru had attacked the leaf village, interrupting the exams. The Third Hokage had given his life to protect the villagers. But Orochimaru wasn't dead. And he had taken an interest in Naruto, while fighting in the forest. He had tried to put a curse on him, or something like that, Sasuke wasn't sure he understood completely, but the thing was, it hadn't worked because of the Kyubi's chakra inside Naruto. And in the end, this had only piqued Orochimaru's curiosity even more.

That's why, when Sakura came to him to talk about Naruto, he wasn't surprised.

"You're worried about him, too?" she asked him.

"Of course I am. I really don't like that Orochimaru guy," Sasuke shivered, putting his hands in his pockets as they walked through the village. "But it's true that he's really powerful. And I know that Naruto hates the village… There's nothing keeping him here."

"He has us!" Sakura protested.

"I just hope that's gonna be enough…" Sasuke whispered sadly.

Naruto was being more and more distant recently. He was thinking about Orochimaru's proposition, Sasuke was certain, even if Naruto never opened up anymore.

Sasuke could understand his reasoning, to a certain extent. Because the chuunin exams had been interrupted, they were still just genin, and they were still given silly missions most of the time. Naruto wanted to become powerful, he wanted to get revenge for his family's death, maybe even overcome the Kyubi, and most of all, kill Madara and his followers.

But that path was incredibly dangerous. Sasuke wished he could help him but… for now, at their level, there was nothing they could do about it…

xxx

"_Sasuke, promise me, you will bring him back…"_

"_I will. I promise."_

The promise he had made Sakura still echoed in his head as he was running after Naruto. The others had stayed back, fighting Orochimaru's men, and Sasuke could only hope they were all right. The new Hokage, Tsunade, she was different than the other villagers, and she liked Naruto a lot. So she hadn't hesitated in ordering a squad to catch up to Naruto and bring him back to the village. Even if it was against the blond's will…

Sasuke was clenching his fists, pushing his body to run faster. He was catching up slowly, but surely.

As they reached a valley Naruto stopped and turned to look at him. His expression was unreadable. Sasuke also stopped and swallowed hard, panting and exhausted from all this running. Naruto wasn't wearing his headband, his blond hair dancing freely in the wind.

"Why are you pursuing me, Sasuke?" he asked, and their eyes met.

He stepped closer. Naruto didn't step back.

"My clan, we have information about Orochimaru," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. "He's constantly changing bodies to reach immortality. He probably wants yours, maybe he wants to control the Kyubi! Naruto, I'm asking you, as your friend, don't go there!"

"I know all that," Naruto replied coldly, "but he's gonna train me. For real. Not like in Konoha, I can never become powerful staying here. I need to become as powerful as the Akatsuki. To defeat them. This is the life I chose. I don't want to stay one more day in that damn village…" his voice was trembling slightly now.

Sasuke sighed shakily. "They're all idiots! I know that. But Kakashi and Sakura, and I… we're here for you, Naruto. You're not alone anymore. You're wrong, you _can_ become strong staying with us! We'll continue to train together. You've already improved, so much…"

"It's not enough, Sasuke," he replied.

His heart sank. Not enough… He wasn't enough to keep Naruto by his side…

Then he felt angry. All those times, all those memories they shared, this incredible friendship that had developed between them, it couldn't be meaningless…

"You will turn your back on me, after everything we've been through?" he said angrily, voicing his thoughts. "Our friendship doesn't mean anything to you?"

Naruto looked sad. "Of course it does…" he whispered. "But I'm leaving. My decision is taken."

Sasuke clenched his fists and frowned. "Then fight me! I'll beat some sense into you and bring you back, even if I have to force you."

Naruto straightened himself and stared back at him intensely. He took a fighting stance, waiting.

Sasuke ran towards him and they started fighting, using only thai jutsu at first.

But Naruto was taking this extremely seriously. This was nothing like one of their playful fights. As he made a few shadow clones and started using kunai knives, Sasuke had to retreat. Naruto was fighting as if he actually wanted to kill him.

He managed to destroy his clones, and he produced a Chidori attack, that Kakashi had taught him. Naruto countered with his rasengan attack. They ran towards each other, but somehow their attacks cancelled and they were sent flying to the water.

They both emerged and stood on the water, panting, facing each other.

"Naruto," he said, breathing hard, "We don't have to do this… I'm asking you one more time, please, come back to the village with me. We can figure something out, together…"

"When did you become such a whiny bitch, Sasuke, huh? Just shut up and fight!" Naruto said harshly.

Sasuke let out a frustrated yelp as they clashed again. Naruto was incredibly aggressive; all the frustration contained in him seemed to come out in uncontrollable flows. Sasuke could only defend himself against each powerful blow.

At some point Naruto pinned him to the ground roughly, panting.

"You can't understand me," he said, frowning, "you have your family back there. They all love you and… you have a future, you have a life waiting for you there… I don't. You don't know what it's like… to lose the only ones you love… I have to get revenge for them! I just have to!"

Sasuke gathered his strength and pushed him away, getting back up to his feet. Maybe it was true that he couldn't understand him, but he still didn't want to let him go. He had to fight back better than this; he had to try to make him change his mind, before it was too late. And talking wouldn't do anything, he knew that now.

So he focused, his eyes turning into sharingan, and when they fought again he was calm and concentrated. He was seeing through every one of Naruto's movements, anticipating them. Soon Naruto was the one defending himself, backing off before Sasuke's now more powerful attacks.

When he was thrown in the water by Sasuke's lightning attack, he didn't swim back up right away, and Sasuke's heart squeezed in his chest at the fear that maybe he had overdone it. But then he frowned, feeling a familiar but dreaded red, incredibly powerful chakra coming out of the water. Sure enough, Naruto came out with his claws out, thicker whiskers and beastly appearance all in all.

Sasuke held his ground, trying not to panic. This happened when Naruto got too emotional during battle. But usually the blond was always able to get a hold of himself. Sometimes Sasuke helped him. His brother had told him that he could push the Kyubi away with his sharingan.

But there was no time for that now. Naruto let out a ferocious growl, and produced a rasengan. Sasuke had no choice. He produced Chidori to counter it. They jumped towards each other with those attacks powerful enough to kill. But there was no time to think. They clashed, and once again the attacks seemed to cancel each other at first. But then Sasuke felt himself getting weaker. Naruto's chakra, added to the Kyubi's, was overwhelming. He could almost feel the extent of his rage and frustration, and it was all directed at him.

Sasuke let out a strangled pained yell as he was defeated. He felt his body fall, and he was unconscious before he even hit the ground…

xxx

When he woke up, hours later, he was being carried on Kakashi's back. They were on their way back to Konoha.

"Naruto…" he whispered in a rasp voice.

"…He's gone." Kakashi said simply.

He squeezed his eyes shot and a few tears of pure frustration rolled down his cheeks. It was too late… He hadn't been able to bring him back… In the end, their friendship hadn't been enough…

TBC

A/N: Well, all I can say is, this is terribly ironic. I'm aware that it probably doesn't all make sense. But this isn't meant to be a mysterious story where you'll be confused and won't understand a thing. It will be all a lot clearer in chapter 2. I hope you enjoyed so far. Please review to tell me what you think!


	3. Waking up

Chapter 2 – Waking up

Three years later, at sixteen years old, Sasuke faced Naruto as his opponent yet again. The war was ongoing between Madara's army and the joined shinobi forces. And even though he knew talking had never worked with Naruto, Sasuke couldn't help but try…

"Madara is just using you! Just like Orochimaru used you before! Don't you understand?" he exclaimed, breathing hard.

"You're the one who doesn't understand a thing, Sasuke!" He replied, frowning. "I'm the one who is using them. I killed Orochimaru, remember? The same thing will happen to Madara, after we destroy Konoha…"

Sasuke clenched his fists. Naruto had become such a monster… a murderer… How had this happened? Even now, Sasuke couldn't forget that Naruto had once been his precious friend. He couldn't forget the strong feelings he had always had for the reckless blond ninja.

But now he was threatening his precious village. His family, the whole Uchiha clan, his comrades… Naruto, with the dark powerful chakra of the Kyubi, had the power to kill them all.

This was why Sasuke had to stop him at all costs. He straightened himself up with renewed determination, and his eyes took the Mangekyou sharingan form. He had awakened it very recently, and Itachi had warned him against it. But against a powerful opponent like Naruto, he had no choice.

"After you help them in this war, the Akatsuki will kill you to get the Kyubi, Naruto!" he shouted. "Is that what you want? You're gonna give yourself to them?"

"I told you before!" Naruto shouted before jumping on him to attack. But Sasuke knew it was a clone. He slaughtered it easily. The voice continued, from behind him this time, "I'm the one who's gonna kill them!"

Sasuke quickly turned around to counter the attack. "And when everyone is dead around you, what happens then, huh? Is that what you want?"

"You don't understand a thing about me!" Naruto shouted angrily.

He pulled back and formed a powerful dark sphere – the Kyubi's attack. Sasuke defended himself with the Susanoo. It was the Uchiha ultimate defence, and even then Sasuke suffered damage from Naruto's attack. It was just way too powerful.

"Your defence weakening, Sasuke?" Naruto mocked, immediately analyzing the situation.

Sasuke frowned, and made the Susanoo attack Naruto in the form of a fist. It got him, but it was another clone. Damn Naruto, with him it was never the real one…

He reappeared behind him, forming another deadly attack. Probably another clone, Sasuke thought, but how could he know? He kept up his defence, but winced as the dark sphere hit him. He couldn't evade them; they were way too fast and precise.

This little game continued for way too long. Sasuke eventually fell to his knees, and the Susanoo around him disappeared. His eyes turned back to their usual onyx colour. Naruto was also back to normal, his eyes blue again. But his expression was still dark and murderous.

He growled as he jumped on Sasuke to attack with his fists. Sasuke tried to stay calm, to keep the upper hand of the fight, but it wasn't easy. It was never easy with Naruto… Still, he countered his attacks. Sasuke had always been slightly faster. He was getting tired, though. He had to do something about this. He didn't want to kill Naruto, but… Maybe he didn't have a choice after all. It was either that, or getting killed himself, and letting Naruto fall into an even darker fate…

He raised his sword, producing lightning energy at the same time and letting it flow through the blade. Naruto moved back, produced clones and prepared rasengan attacks.

As the clones ran to him, Sasuke evaded them all swiftly, and instead ran towards the real Naruto, who was staying back. At first the blond tried to defend himself with a kunai, but Sasuke's attacks were too quick, and his blade of lightning was next to impossible to dodge. He slid it in Naruto's heart before even realizing what had just happened.

When realization did hit him he pulled back the blade quickly and dropped it. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest, and he caught Naruto in his arms before he could hit the ground.

"Naruto…" he whispered.

The blond opened his eyes and looked up at him. They weren't cruel or murderous anymore. No, now they were the blue eyes Sasuke used to love so much. They were beautiful, caring, passionate…

"Sasuke, you… you did it. You were the hero who killed me… in the end."

He closed his eyes, his head rolling on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke's tears fell on Naruto's face as he held him close…

No, he thought, no, why did this happen? How did it turn out that way? Naruto…

xxx

"Naruto…"

Blue eyes snapped open when he heard the rasp whisper. Somehow he had managed to fall asleep in the uncomfortable little chair. He got up and stepped closer to the hospital bed.

"Sasuke?"

It was hard to tell if he was awake since he was blindfolded, and his hands were tied to straps on the bed.

"Naruto, you're alive?" he whispered.

His voice was hopeful, almost disbelieving. Naruto frowned.

"Yes," he answered, not knowing what else to reply to this strange question.

"But… I killed you… you died in my arms… And then… I can't remember anything after that…"

Now, Naruto was really confused.

"It must have been a dream," he said. "Because that's not what happened. You hit your head. You've been in a coma for two weeks."

"Coma? But… where am I? What happened?" he sounded like he was starting to panic. "Why am I tied up?"

"Safety measure," Naruto answered. "You're at Konoha's hospital. Secluded room."

"Safety…? But… So the village is all right?"

"Yes."

"Thank God…"

Naruto was starting to freak out. For two weeks, he had been guarding this room in case Sasuke woke up. To stop him from trying to escape and attack the village. He was under Tsunade's protection until he was fully recovered, that was the condition they had established with the other Kages after they had won the war.

But he sure as hell hadn't expected this. Sasuke wasn't making any sense.

"So you didn't attack Konoha after all, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

Okay, there was definitely something wrong with him.

"I'll… I'll be right back." He said before storming out of the room.

He found Sakura in her office, and leaned in the doorway, out of breath.

"Naruto?" She got up, looking worried. "What is it?"

"Sasuke woke up…"

She brought a hand to her chest. "Oh my God. What happened? He escaped? We have to alert the Anbu guards…"

"No, Sakura, wait!" he exclaimed. "He's not trying to escape… Sakura there's… there's something wrong with him."

"Something wrong?"

"You need to see him…"

He led her to Sasuke's room, and they pushed the door open softly. Sakura went to stand next to the bed, while Naruto stayed back.

"Sasuke?" she asked in a little voice.

"Sakura! I'm so glad you're all right," he said. "What's going on, Sakura? Why is Naruto here? What happened?"

She looked back at Naruto with wide, confused eyes. Naruto shrugged helplessly. She turned back to Sasuke.

"I'm gonna untie him," she said.

Naruto stepped closer to her instinctively. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, and untied the straps around Sasuke's wrists. He didn't move. Then Sakura helped him lift his head, and took off the blindfold.

Naruto was shocked when he saw the look in Sasuke's onyx eyes. But he wasn't looking at him, he was looking at Sakura. And his eyes were big, warm and kind.

"I'm so glad you're all right," he repeated, and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her weakly. "Before I went to attack Naruto, I heard that the medical squad was in trouble, so I was worried…"

"Sa… Sasuke," she whispered, shocked, but she hugged him back.

He eventually pulled away slightly. "So we won the war?"

Sakura simply nodded.

"And Naruto is here…" he turned his head to look at him. Then he frowned slightly, confused. "You're wearing a headband. And… strange clothes…"

Naruto exchanged a what-the-fuck-glance with Sakura.

She pulled away from Sasuke completely, and walked out of the room. Sasuke frowned, looking confused.

"Just a second," Naruto told him, and then followed Sakura outside.

They walked down the long, empty hallway to make sure Sasuke wouldn't hear them.

"His memories are all wrong," Naruto finally said.

"Yeah well, you're really good at stating the obvious," Sakura sighed. "What should I do?" she muttered more to herself.

"He should still be under granny's protection. He's obviously not recovered, there's something wrong with his head."

She nodded. "I'll go talk to Tsunade. Just… just stay here with him until we take a decision."

"I got it," he said.

She walked away in the opposite direction. Naruto returned to Sasuke's room. He was trying to get up, but his legs were still weak.

He ran up to him to help him sit back down. "Hey, take it easy man."

Sasuke nodded, abnormally docile. Naruto brought his chair closer, and for a moment they just sat in front of each other in silence. Sasuke was eyeing him so curiously that at some point Naruto sighed and took off his jacket and headband.

"Is this what I looked like in your memories?" he asked.

"It's closer," he admitted. "So, what made you change your mind?"

"Change my mind?"

"What made you come back to Konoha?"

"I… I never left, Sasuke…"

A flash of pain darkened his eyes.

"How can you say that," he whispered, "When I spent the last three years trying to bring you back?"

Naruto's eyes widened, and he almost fell off his chair. How ironic, to hear those words coming from Sasuke's mouth.

"You must've hit your head pretty fucking hard…" he muttered.

"I'm fine," he shook his head. "Naruto, tell me, if we won the war, it must mean my brother was able to defeat Madara?"

Fuck, what could he answer to that now?

He wondered if this was the effect of Itachi's chakra. He remembered, at the end of their battle, he had used up all of his chakra, and that's when Itachi's chakra had come out. At first he had thought it hadn't done anything, and that Sasuke had just fallen and hit his head, but now…?

Was this Itachi's master plan, he wondered, to alter Sasuke's memories like that? Hell of a plan, Naruto thought sarcastically, now he had to explain the truth. But what could he say? He wondered as Sasuke waited patiently for his answer, fear in his big onyx eyes. That his brother was long dead, and that he was a crazy criminal hated by everyone, just like Sasuke himself?

"No," he answered simply instead, "I'm the one who defeated Madara, with the help of the eight-tails, Bee."

"But," Sasuke frowned, "the eight-tails is dead. You're the only Jinchuriki left…"

"No, Bee is alive, Sasuke. And, your brother…"

"Naruto!" Sakura's voice interrupted him.

They both turned to look at her. Naruto leaned back in his chair – he hadn't even noticed he had leaned closer to Sasuke.

"Tsunade-sama is here," Sakura said simply.

The blonde woman stepped in the room with Sakura. Before she could even speak, Sasuke got up, one hand still on the bed for support, and bowed.

"Hokage-sama, I'm glad you are safe, and that we have won the war. I'm sorry I was unconscious, and couldn't be of any use."

Sakura and Naruto looked at Tsunade expectantly.

"I see your point now, Sakura," Tsunade finally said, sighing.

Sasuke straightened himself to look at her, frowning slightly, clearly confused.

"I accept your request, Sakura," Tsunade continued, still ignoring Sasuke, "And you, Naruto, you are dismissed from your guarding duties."

"But, granny…"

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as he looked at him. Maybe, Naruto thought, in Sasuke's fucked up memories, he wasn't so familiar with the Hokage.

"I will let Sakura explain," Tsunade said. "I have other patients I need to take care of."

She left the room, leaving the three ex-teammates alone.

"Sasuke's gonna live in a small apartment right next to mine until he recovers," Sakura explained, "So I can keep watch of his progress."

"But… that's dangerous, Sakura," Naruto frowned.

"The Hokage agreed to it," Sakura replied, "She trusts me. You should do the same, Naruto."

"I…" Sasuke said, "I have a house… What's going on? I want to see my brother."

Sakura smiled at him. "Come with me, Sasuke. You are still sick. You need to rest."

She was smiling and talking to him as though he were a little child who had just lost his parents.

Sasuke followed her, although reluctantly, it seemed. Naruto wasn't too happy with all this, but he didn't really have a choice, they were the Hokage's orders, after all.

xxx

Sasuke was frustrated. Sakura hadn't explained anything. She had told him he needed to rest. And now it was night. He had taken a shower, changed into simple, plain black sweats Sakura had found for him, and he was lying down on his single bed with eyes wide open. He wasn't sleepy at all. And he wanted explanations.

He got up, put on his shoes and stormed outside. It felt weird not to be wearing his headband. His hair was longer, and his bangs were falling in his eyes, it was kind of annoying. He walked towards the Uchiha clan compound with determination. His family would tell him the truth.

He stopped short when he arrived at the entrance. It was… destroyed, in ruins…

There was no one here. He felt his skin turn to ice at the sight.

"Hey, it's the Uchiha!" a young man's voice said.

Sasuke gasped and turned around. Behind him was a group of five shinobi. Genin, most likely, or maybe Chuunin. Sasuke didn't know them.

"The fuck are you doing here?" one of them asked roughly.

"Came back to visit your stupid dead village?" another said, stepping forward.

Sasuke felt his shoulders slouching, his determination and will fading completely. This had to be a nightmare…

"He's under the Hokage protection," one of them warned.

"And he's dangerous," his friend added.

"I don't care," the same one who had stepped closer before said.

He ran toward Sasuke and the others decided to follow. They started beating him up. Sasuke didn't even resist. He crawled on the ground and curled up in a ball, protecting his face with his arms. They continued kicking him harshly, until a loud voice was heard.

"Get off him you assholes!"

It was Naruto's voice. The others immediately stopped. Sasuke risked a glance up. Naruto's eyes had turned green, and he was taking a fighting stance. Somehow, he looked bad ass, even if he was still wearing the strange orange clothes.

The five guys ran away, scared of Naruto. The latter then sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were their usual blue. He walked up to Sasuke.

It started raining. Sasuke thought it was soothing for the injured skin on his arms, back and legs, where the others had kicked him.

Naruto offered his hand. Sasuke took it, and Naruto helped him up.

"I thought you might come here," he sighed again. "Didn't Sakura tell you anything?"

Naruto let go of his hand. Sasuke felt like he was gonna fall any moment, but he held his ground.

"No," he managed to say. "Naruto, please, tell me the truth. Where is my family, where is Itachi?" he asked desperately.

The blond shook his head sadly. The rain was making his hair all flat, and dripping on his tan face.

"Sasuke, the things you remember, they are not real…"

Sasuke's world was literally falling apart…

If this was the reality, then he didn't want it…

"Where is my brother?" he asked again, voice barely a whisper.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry… he's dead…" Naruto whispered.

The raven's mind went blank. It couldn't be…

"You're lying."

"Sasuke," Naruto said sadly, stepping closer.

But Sasuke stepped back in fear. He didn't really know what he was scared of. Of the truth, probably…

"Then… who killed him?" he asked.

Naruto didn't reply. He looked desperate, helpless, and sad, so sad.

"Naruto, tell me, please, who killed him?" he pleaded.

"I can't," he said in a broken voice. "I just can't…"

Sasuke felt his legs weaken. Before he knew it, he fell, but Naruto caught him. They sat on the ground, and Naruto held him tight, rocking his body gently. Sasuke buried his face in his chest as he cried. He couldn't stop crying.

"Itachi," he barely heard Naruto whisper, "what have you done?"

Naruto continued to hold him as his body was racked with sobs and trembling. When he finally calmed himself, Naruto picked him up in his arms. Sasuke felt so weak that he didn't protest. He fell asleep, his head on Naruto's shoulder.

To be continued...


	4. Uchiha tale

Chapter 3 – Uchiha tale

Naruto was sitting on his couch, unable to sleep, when Sakura came knocking at his door. It was early morning.

"Naruto," she said when he opened the door, tone of voice urgent. "Sasuke's gone…"

"Calm down…"

She frowned. "How can you tell me to calm down…?"

"He's here," he cut her. "He's sleeping in my room."

"Oh… What happened?" she asked as he let her in.

"What do you think?" he asked a bit angrily. "He went to see the Uchiha compound. His memories are all fucked up, Sakura. He thought they were still alive!"

"Oh no… I was hoping he would just rest for a few more days…" she said.

Before Naruto could reply, Sasuke beat him to it.

"It's okay, Sakura, it's not your fault," he said as he walked towards them.

Naruto looked at him, but Sasuke was adverting his eyes, looking extremely sad and depressed.

Sakura looked worried. "What happened to you, Sasuke, you're all beat up! I need to take a look at your injuries. Come with me."

Sasuke, acting like a docile child again, followed her out of Naruto's apartment, still glancing down, and looking like he was about to break down.

"You can't hide the truth from him, Sakura," Naruto couldn't help but speak out his mind.

"It's better if he recovers the memories himself, Naruto," she hissed, and then, taking Sasuke's hand, they left.

xxx

Sasuke had let Sakura heal him, then they had eaten together, and now he was lying in his bed again. Sakura was still in his small kitchen, preparing some tea.

He had stayed silent the whole time. Everything was different. The villagers hated him. His brother, and entire family and clan, were dead. Naruto was different. He was caring and nice. And Sakura was different, too. The one he remembered would never have hissed at Naruto like that.

She smiled at him as she brought the two cups of tea and put them down on the bedside table. Then she sat on the bed. Sasuke sat up, looking into her eyes.

"Why did you speak so harshly to Naruto, earlier?" he asked.

She shrugged it off. "We just had a little fight. No big deal."

"Don't you love him?"

She looked surprised.

"In my… memories, you loved him so much," Sasuke explained.

"Sasuke," she shook her head slightly, and took his hand, "the truth is, I'm in love with you, I always have been. But, the other you," she took a deep breath, "I feel like he hated me…"

He frowned. "How could I hate you? We're teammates, we're friends…"

She let out a shaky sigh, and wiped a tear at the corner of her eye with her free hand. Then she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.

"This may be selfish, but I feel like, I don't want you to recover your true memories…"

He hugged her back comfortingly as she cried. But suddenly he pulled back.

"Sakura, are Sai and Kakashi all right?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," she smiled and reached with her hand to brush his raven bangs aside softly.

But he pulled away completely, frowning. He was a little uncomfortable with the sudden closeness.

"I'm sorry," she said when she noticed his uneasiness, "it's just, I was hoping that…"

"Yes?"

"Forget it," she chuckled, standing. "You should… you should drink your tea, and rest. I have to go to the hospital."

xxx

Sitting at Ichiraku's ramen with Sai and Kiba, Naruto was trying to explain the situation to his friends. But it wasn't that easy…

"So you're saying," Kiba said, mouth full of noodles, "that Sasuke lost his memories?"

"No Kiba," Sai replied for him, "he said that his memories were altered, it's different."

"What does altered mean?" Kiba asked as he looked down at his dog. The latter seemed to be begging for food.

Naruto face palmed.

"You haven't touched your ramen Naruto," Sai said worriedly. "You need to eat to keep up your energy."

"I'm aware of that Sai, thank you," he muttered, annoyed.

"So," Kiba said, looking back at Naruto, "maybe he's just gone in the head, you know? Maybe he really became crazy after all?"

"Oh shut up Kiba," Naruto muttered.

"I'm just sayin'…" Kiba shrugged, and then they stayed silent for a few minutes.

When Kiba looked back at his dog, he literally choked on his food.

"What's wrong, Kiba?" Sai asked.

But then they followed his stare. Sasuke was there, and he was petting Akamaru. And the dog was leaning in his touch, clearly enjoying it.

When Sasuke straightened himself and looked at them, he frowned slightly.

"What is it?" he asked shyly, running his long pale fingers through his hair, and looking down at his clothes as if searching for something off about his appearance.

Kiba was still choking on his food, Sai trying to help him by tapping his back. Naruto wasn't sure that was really helping.

Kiba eventually managed to swallow properly. "What the fuck," he said.

"I think he is surprised," Sai informed Sasuke, "that you were being nice to Akamaru."

"Oh, hum… I'm sorry if it's not all right. Anyway, Sai, Kiba, I am glad you guys are safe, with this war, I was worried about everyone…"

Kiba frowned and looked back at Naruto. "I was right! He's completely gone in the head. Is it really okay for this guy to wander around in Konoha's streets?"

"I would never harm anyone in this village," Sasuke said sincerely.

"Yeah right," Kiba snorted, "It's not like you were planning to kill everyone just a few weeks ago…"

"Kiba shut up!" Naruto exclaimed, but too late.

But Sasuke didn't make much of a reaction. He just put his hands in his pockets and glanced down, obviously confused and sad.

"You were right," Sai said, "he really is different."

Sasuke looked up at Sai. "So, we were never, actually teammates, am I correct?"

"No, we weren't. I'm Sakura and Naruto's teammate, in Kakashi's team seven. You are ex-team seven."

Sasuke brought a hand to his forehead, as if he had a headache. "Everything's the other way around," he whispered.

A little crowd of hateful villagers were starting to gather around them, sending murderous glances at Sasuke. Except a few girls, who seemed conflicted because of how handsome he was.

"I'll see you later guys," Naruto told Sai and Kiba, before walking up to Sasuke. "Come on let's go somewhere more quiet."

Sasuke nodded and followed him. As long as Naruto was with him, no one would attack him at least.

They exited the village and went to the forest, walking quietly side by side.

"So why did you go to the ramen stand?" Naruto finally asked. "It wasn't to eat, I suppose, unless even your tastes have changed?"

"No I don't like ramen," he made a little smile. "I was looking for you actually."

"Okay?" Naruto said, encouraging him.

"Do you think Kiba's right, and that I have gone mad?" he asked without looking at him.

"No, of course not."

Sasuke stopped walking, but he still didn't look up at him. "Then why are my memories different from this reality?" he whispered.

"I have a theory, but… it's kinda complicated…" Naruto said awkwardly.

"I'm really sorry if I'm bothering you," Sasuke sighed, finally looking up, "but, I really need to talk to someone."

Naruto felt warm inside as he heard those words. "Of course, Sasuke I'm here for you."

He nodded slowly, clearly thankful, and sat on the dry leaves on the ground, leaning against a tree. Naruto sat in front of him.

"In my memories, you hated Konoha so much…" he started, but then stopped himself, as if he didn't know how to continue.

"Why?" Naruto asked to encourage him.

"Because the villagers blamed you and hated you, just because you had the demon fox trapped inside you."

Naruto nodded. "Well that much is real I mean, I used to really hate them when I was a kid…"

"That's not all," Sasuke shook his head slightly, "you also wanted revenge. To kill Madara, because he had unleashed the Kyubi and killed your parents and your brother…"

"My brother?" his blue eyes widened.

"Yes. You were six years old, and your mother was pregnant with her second son, but Madara killed them… and your father sacrificed himself, and then he sealed the Kyubi inside you. That's all I knew… The rest of the villagers didn't know anything, and they thought it was a natural disaster, and they needed someone to blame so they blamed you," Sasuke said in one breath, as if he found it hard to talk about those things.

"Well damn," Naruto whispered in disbelief.

Itachi had really created an elaborate genjutsu… If it really was the case.

"So that's why you left," Sasuke continued, his voice trembling a little, "when we were younger, after we had become close friends… You left me because you wanted to become more powerful, in order to get your revenge. I wanted to bring you back," he said, his voice breaking, "but it didn't work out… I wasn't strong enough."

"Sasuke," he put his hand on Sasuke's arm, and their eyes met, "believe me, I know exactly how that feels."

Sasuke didn't reply, he was waiting for him to continue.

"Truth is, you're the one who ran away. And you were such a jerk…"

Somehow, it felt liberating to say this.

"You were, too." Sasuke said.

His tone of voice wasn't mean, it was as if it felt liberating to him, too.

Naruto realized that, maybe it didn't matter which version was real, and which wasn't. Maybe all Itachi had wanted, was for them to understand each other. Maybe he had wanted Sasuke to see the world from a different perspective. In a reality in which his family and beloved brother were still alive, he had become this nice, quiet and loyal shinobi working for the Hokage.

Except, he thought sadly, it did matter which version was real. And Sasuke had still done all the horrible things he had done, no matter his memories. And he still needed to face the consequences of his actions.

"When you regain your true memories, because I'm sure you will," Naruto said, more trying to convince himself than anything, "I just hope that you will remember this as well."

Sasuke nodded. There was a silence, and when Naruto realized his hand was still on Sasuke's arm, he removed it quickly.

"Why… Why did I run away?" Sasuke eventually asked, and he seemed almost scared of the answer.

"To get revenge, for your clan," he answered carefully.

Maybe actually talking about this would make Sasuke remember. But no sign of remembrance appeared on his face, he only looked even more scared as he looked at him with big dark eyes.

"Revenge… from… from whom?"

"…Itachi."

Sasuke gasped and crawled away from him, as if he had burned him. He was looking at him in disbelief.

"You don't mean…? I killed my own…" his breathing fastened, and he couldn't even finish his sentence.

"Sasuke it's much more complicated than that… Damn now I really wish you remembered…" he muttered more to himself. "Although not really cause then you'd probably try to kill me…"

Sasuke was literally shaking at this point, he really looked like he was about to break down. But then he seemed to compose himself, and he looked back at Naruto with determination.

"You have to tell me the truth. I want to know."

The blond nodded. "But promise me this," he said, "even though it's probably completely pointless…"

"What?" he asked softly.

"Uh… not to kill me… or to destroy the village?"

"I promise," Sasuke said without hesitating.

"Okay, well, here goes nothing… Your brother was a double agent for Konoha and the Uchiha… but then there was an order from the leaders of the Leaf back then, and he had to take a really though decision…"

Naruto told him absolutely everything he knew. He told him about Itachi killing the entire Uchiha clan – except Sasuke of course – under Konoha's orders, and then going into exile and joining the Akatsuki. Then he told Sasuke about Orochimaru, and the curse mark, and when he had decided to leave them to seek power, in order to defeat Itachi. Sasuke stayed silent the whole time, glancing away, sometimes frowning, and sometimes nodding slightly in understanding.

Naruto even told him about his former team, Taka. He had no choice but trust Madara's version when it came to what had happened between Sasuke and Itachi during their fight, but he was certain it was close enough to the truth. And finally, he told him about his decision of killing Danzou, and also, literally, the entire Leaf village, as a revenge for Itachi and the Uchiha clan.

Of course, the entire time, Naruto mentally cursed Itachi with all his might for forcing him to repeat this horrible story to this innocent and kind version of Sasuke.

There was a long silence after he had told him the tale, and then Sasuke spoke. But to Naruto's surprise, it wasn't even about Itachi, or the Uchiha, it was about him.

"And you, how did you cope with losing your family, and how the villagers treated you?"

He smiled sadly. "Well, the truth is I never actually knew my parents. I never had any family. I don't know if I would really have become an avenger just like you if I had actually known them but… No, honestly, I don't know. But having friends definitely helped me, and you helped me too…"

Sasuke nodded slowly. "I wish the real me could've been just as strong as you."

"Don't say that," he frowned. "You're really strong, it's just… Damn you really didn't get it easy…"

"…And Sakura, in my memories, she was different, too…" Sasuke said, changing the subject.

"How?" Naruto asked, curious.

"She was so in love with you. But a lot of girls were, actually. Most kids didn't know about the Kyubi thing, so back in school they thought you were really bad ass, and cool."

"Huh! That's fucked up," he laughed. "I was a loser, really…"

"I'm sure you weren't."

"No," Naruto made a face, "I kind of really was… even though it hurts to admit it."

Sasuke's lips twitched into a little smile, but then he glanced away and the smile disappeared. "But Sakura told me she was in love with me…"

"That's the truth," Naruto shrugged. "She's always been crazy about you."

"It makes me sad cause," Sasuke shook his head, "I don't love her that way. She's just a friend, a teammate…"

"I'm sure she'll understand," Naruto tried to reassure him.

He felt good, actually, at hearing Sasuke say that, even though he didn't really understand why.

"Come on," he said, standing, "let's head back…"

"All right," Sasuke whispered, still clearly shaken up.

They walked slowly side by side as they returned to the village. Naruto's only hope at this point, was that if Sasuke regained his true memories, he would also still remember this talk they'd just had together, because it really meant a lot to him, and he was sure it would mean a lot to Sasuke, too…


	5. Taka

Chapter 4 - Taka

When they reached Sasuke's apartment, the latter looked like he didn't want to go. It also seemed as if he were hesitating to say something.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"This… Taka team that you mentioned…"

"Yes?"

"Well," Sasuke looked up at him shyly, "Where are they now?"

"They're here, in Konoha actually. Well, they're in jail…"

Sasuke looked hopeful. "Can I see them?"

"Yeah sure," Naruto smiled. "Do you remember them?"

"No but… Maybe if I see them…"

"Yeah it's a good idea," the blond nodded. "Let's go."

"Now?"

"Sure, why not?"

"All right," Sasuke said a little nervously.

They started walking toward Konoha's prison. A few villagers still looked at them funny, but it wasn't so bad. When they actually arrived to the building though, it wasn't that easy to get in with Sasuke…

"Do you have authorization to bring him in here?" the guard asked him, frowning.

"He's still under the Hokage's protection," Naruto replied, "He's free to go anywhere he wants in the village until he's fully recovered."

"That doesn't make much sense to me," another guy, this one sitting behind the front desk, protested. "He looks pretty much recovered to me…"

Naruto had to admit he had a point.

"I'm asking you to trust the Hokage's, and my judgment on this one guys," he pleaded.

The guard hesitated, and then sighed, "Fine… But you're the one to blame if he tries to help prisoners escape…"

"I take full responsibility," Naruto nodded.

"Follow me," he said simply as he opened a door, and then they walked down the stairs.

They arrived to a long hallway, it was kind of creepy, actually, but clean and well kept at least. They passed many cells, and most prisoners were sleeping, or reading. Naruto was surprised, it wasn't like he had expected.

"These are the calm prisoners," the guard explained. "The ones who are more dangerous or harder to control, if you prefer, they're one floor lower."

"I see," Naruto said simply.

"Well, here we are." The guard stopped. "I can leave you to it then, Uzumaki?"

"Sure," he smiled, and watched as the guard walked away.

Before them were the cells of Suigetsu and Jugo, and as he turned, Naruto saw that Karin's cell was right in front.

"Sasuke? Is that you?" She asked, shocked, as she put on her glasses.

Suigetsu and Jugo had also woken up because of the guard's loud voice.

"Sasuke! What are you doing here? As a free man at that!" Suigetsu exclaimed.

Sasuke turned to look at Karin, then back at Suigetsu. He looked like he didn't know what to say.

Naruto cleared his throat. "Guys, hum, Sasuke is… he has amnesia, actually, and so he doesn't remember you. So we thought it would be a good idea for him to see you again, see if it helps him regain his memories…"

"I see," Jugo said, stepping closer to the door of his cell. "Well, Sasuke," he said and the raven looked at him, "I'm glad to see you're okay. My name is Jugo, and you're the one who saved me from a prison Orochimaru had put me in…"

"Yeah same here," Suigetsu chuckled, "except now we're in another prison."

"I told you I'm working on it Suigetsu," Karin said. "Those Konoha ninjas interrogating me won't resist my charms for very long. Besides, I keep telling them that we were victims in all this, which is kind of true anyway…"

"Victims?" Suigetsu burst out laughing. "Oh come on Karin," he pointed at Sasuke. "You had the hots for him since the beginning."

"That's…that's not true!" she exclaimed, but she was a really bad liar.

Naruto chuckled, but he just stepped away, watching their exchange in silence and waiting to see if Sasuke would speak to them. But for now the raven was just listening, and his expression was a mix of confusion and amusement.

"Hey I haven't reintroduced myself officially," Suigetsu told Sasuke teasingly. "I am Hozugi Suigetsu, and… how could I describe our relationship… I'd say you were totally falling for me, it was more than friendship, really…"

Naruto raised a brow, but didn't comment.

Karin frowned, "What the hell are you talking about you dumb fuck?"

"I'm just saying," Suigetsu shrugged, "there were always these crazy females all over him, but he had only eyes for me," he pointed at his shirtless and toned body.

"I doubt that," Jugo said.

Suigetsu laughed and looked at Sasuke. "Nah I'm just messin' with you man. I hope you regain your memories soon. Maybe you'll actually feel sorry for us and try to get us out of here, who knows."

Sasuke made a little smile. "Of course we'll try to get you out of here."

"Sure, yeah," Naruto added. "I'll talk to the Hokage or something. She loves me."

"We'd appreciate that, thank you," Jugo gave a slight nod.

"Thanks for coming to see us, Sasuke," Karin said sincerely. "You seem different than the last time I saw you. Much different. In a good way."

"In a good way, as in, he's not trying to kill you," Suigetsu chuckled.

"Shut up," Karin snapped.

Sasuke looked at her, frowning sadly. "I'm sorry if I have hurt you…"

"Okay you're right," Suigetsu said, "he's different."

Naruto took Sasuke by the arm. "Okay, I guess we'll go now. And I'll talk to the Hokage about you guys, I promise!"

They thanked him again. With a shaken up and confused Sasuke they walked out of the building, Naruto thanking the guard before leaving.

"You really don't remember them, do you?" he asked Sasuke as they walked.

"No…" he said sadly.

"It's okay." Naruto shrugged, "Give yourself some time."

This time, when they reached Sasuke's apartment, he seemed eager to get inside.

"I think I just need to be alone…" he said.

Naruto frowned. "Hey, you won't do anything stupid, right?"

He gave a little sad smile and shook his head slightly. "No, I just need to… think, or… I don't know…"

"Be alone, I get it," Naruto smiled back. "But if you need me, you know where my apartment is?"

"I'll just detect your chakra or something," he chuckled. "Or go to Ichiraku's again and wait 'til you show up."

"Okay," he laughed.

"Hey thank you," he said more seriously, locking eyes with him, "for telling me the truth. I appreciate."

"No problem," he nodded.

"It was nice being able to talk, even though, I'm not really my true self and… I feel like you're not really your true self and all that…"

"I understand what you mean, but yeah it was really nice," he said sincerely.

"See you around then."

"Yeah, good night, Sasuke."

"Night…"

xxx

The next day, first thing in the morning, Naruto went to see Tsunade at her office. He wanted to talk to her about the three prisoners. He had made them a promise after all.

"You wanted to see me, Naruto?" she asked, yawning.

"Yes, it's about these prisoners, I don't remember their last names but Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo? Sasuke's team mates after he killed Orochimaru, do you remember them?"

"Oh yeah," she said thoughtfully, "I think I have their folders somewhere around here," she fumbled through the messy pile of documents on her desk, "and I was supposed to read them and take a decision about that… eventually…"

"Tsunade no Baa-chan!" he exclaimed in protest, "Do your job for once!"

"Give me a break you little brat, we're just out of a deadly ninja war I'm sure you're aware of that. I have a lot of patients at the hospital, plus tons of diplomatic… stuff… to take care of."

"Diplomatic stuff? What the hell?"

"Give me a break!" she repeated. "I'd like to see you when you become the Hokage. Anyway, I'll let you decide if we should free them or not." She said.

"Really?" He asked, blue eyes wide in shock.

"Yeah, sure," she shrugged. "Since I'm so busy, you can help a little. Just interrogate them, fill in these forms… Wait I have them somewhere, I'm sure…" she started fumbling through the mess again, "Here!" she said triumphantly, handing him some documents. "And then I'll put my signature when you're done."

"Thank you, granny," he said sincerely.

"Sure, I trust your judgment brat, you're a good kid."

"Tsunade have you been drinking again?" he frowned, suspicious.

She picked up the empty bottle of sake on her desk and hid it in her drawer. "No."

"…Right."

"Just get the hell out of my office!"

He ran away, scared for his life. An angry Tsunade was never good.

Naruto went directly to the prison, documents in hand. According to these, he just had to ask the prisoners a couple of question, then write the reasons why they should be released or not, and then Tsunade had to sign. Simple enough.

It was the same guard as the day before.

"You again…" he sighed. "What now?"

"Do you hate your job that much man?" Naruto asked.

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to."

"Okay… hum… I'm here representing the Hokage actually. I'd like to see the same prisoners as yesterday, except this time I'd like a room to interrogate them…"

"They've already been interrogated several times…" the guard said.

"But this time I'm here to decide if they're gonna be released or not," he replied.

This damn lazy guard was starting to piss him off. Maybe he was related to Shikamaru.

"Fine," he finally said. "Follow me…"

They went downstairs, and then in the same direction as before. But this time when they reached the cells, the guard unlocked them.

"Hey Naruto!" Suigetsu exclaimed. "Sasuke's not with you today?"

"Nah it's just me, I just gotta fill these documents, and then make Tsunade sign them, and you're free!"

"Don't you mean, evaluate their answers, and then decide if they should be freed?" the guard said.

"Evaluate, of course, my mistake, hehe," he scratched his hair nervously.

"Whatever," the man said.

He led them to the last room, and Naruto and the three others got in. It was just a table and two chairs.

The guard handed him one of his spare keys. "So you can lock them back up in their cells when you're done," he explained. "Then you can give me back the key before you leave."

"Cool," Naruto said.

The guard walked away, and Naruto closed the door. Karin sat in the chair, and Suigetsu and Jugo leaned back on the wall. Naruto sat in the other chair, documents in hand.

"Ah damn, I forgot to bring a pen," he face palmed.

He really didn't feel like going to ask the damn lazy ass guard for a pen.

"I have one!" Karin said, taking a small pink pen out of her pocket.

"Thanks," he smiled as she handed it to him.

"It's for writing her love notes to Sasuke," Suigetsu mocked.

"Shut up," she snapped.

"All right so these are pretty simple questions," he said, "Basically... why do you guys think you should be freed?"

"Because I am a victim in all this," Karin said, and Naruto started writing. He only hoped his handwriting would be readable. "I never wanted to join the Akatsuki," she continued, "I never wanted to do anything wrong. You see, Sasuke kinda forced us…"

"Cut the damn bullshit, Karin," Suigetsu said, clearly annoyed. He crossed his arms as he leaned back on the wall, and stared straight into Naruto's eyes. "Sasuke never forced anyone. We followed him of our own free will. Hey, the guy has charisma and well, the truth is, we were just lonely and had nowhere else to go, no family, no friends, nothing."

Jugo nodded. "I agree with Suigetsu. As for me, Sasuke helped me overcome my urges to kill. Just like Kimimaro had done before."

Naruto nodded, still writing. He remembered that Kimimaro guy. If he remembered correctly, he had also been a possibility to be a vessel for Orochimaru in the past, and it was true that there was something, an aura, maybe, that reminded of Sasuke.

"Uh, no one's gonna be able to read that," Karin told him.

He frowned, offended, "Hey it's not that bad."

"Stupid Karin," Suigetsu said behind her, "don't insult the guy, he's just trying to help us."

Naruto stopped writing and gave Karin her pen back. He figured Tsunade wouldn't even read it anyway; she would just sign it, whatever it said. But he felt like asking these guys more questions.

"I'll just go with my judgment then." He said, and the three others went quiet, waiting. "I'm honestly just curious about a couple of things. How was Sasuke - I mean, what can you tell me about him - when he was with you guys?"

Suigetsu shrugged. "Well he was awfully quiet, to tell you the truth, kinda boring. But I thought he was a nice guy after all 'cause, well, he helped me get my sword…"

Naruto made a little smile. "Zabuza's sword, right?"

"Yeah! He was all nostalgic and smiling when we went to find it."

Naruto's smile widened. "Yeah it was our first mission together… Anyway, what else can you tell me?"

"Well after that we went to find Karin…" Suigetsu started, and Karin cut him.

"I had no choice!" she said.

Suigetsu kicked her chair. "I told you, cut the fucking bullshit! Tell the truth for once, jeez…"

She got up and went to try to strangle Suigetsu angrily. In one instant Naruto was between them.

"Guys, seriously!"

Karin stepped back. "Sorry…"

They returned to their seats.

"You're fast," Suigetsu said, impressed.

"Thanks," Naruto said, shrugging slightly.

"Almost as fast as Sasuke," Suigetsu added.

"Was that really necessary?" Naruto asked, annoyed.

The silver-haired guy smirked. "No, I just like to see your reactions when I talk about him."

"Anyway," Naruto brushed it off, "Karin, you were saying?"

"Well, I guess Suigetsu's right, I should tell the truth for once…"

"Can you say that again?" Suigetsu said, violet eyes widening as he looked at Karin's back, "That I'm right?"

"Shut up Suigetsu," she snapped without looking at him. "Anyway, Sasuke asked me to join him, because he thought my abilities as a sensor could be of use, and at first I said no… He looked like he didn't really care, actually. He said he'd find someone else. But then…" she blushed slightly and replaced her glasses, "then I changed my mind… because, I realized, I… I was headed for the same direction anyway…"

"Bullshit!" Suigetsu laughed.

"It's okay," Naruto chuckled. "So what else can you guys tell me? What was it like… after he killed his brother?"

"He was crying," Jugo said seriously. "I had never seen him get emotional before."

"True," Suigetsu nodded. "He was devastated. After Madara talked to him, that's when he decided we'd head for Konoha, to destroy it."

"He didn't change right away though," Karin added. "When Madara ordered us to retrieve the Eight-tails, Sasuke was protecting us during the battle."

"We saved his ass," Suigetsu chuckled, "but then yeah it's true he protected us using the Amaterasu. He saved us in the end."

Karin sighed. "And after that he changed. When we went to the Kage summit. When he fought Danzou… He lost it…"

The others stayed silent. Naruto was glad that he got to talk to these guys in the end, and wondered why he hadn't thought of doing this before. He realized he hadn't known anything about Sasuke, about how he was as a teammate for these guys. Now he knew. And he was surprised, because Sasuke had actually acted like a friend for them, until he had lost it completely, like Karin had said.

"Well thanks," he said sincerely, "I'll have the Hokage sign these, and you'll be released probably today, actually! Or at the latest, tomorrow."

"Well I must say, that was fast," Suigetsu chuckled, "you're a great guy Naruto, I mean it."

"Thank you," Jugo added.

"Yeah, thanks," Karin smiled.

He led them back to their cells, and locked them reluctantly.

"I wish I could free you right away, but, you know, procedures…" He said lamely.

"We understand," Jugo made a little smile.

Naruto nodded and smiled back, and then he walked away. He felt happy, actually, he had a good feeling about this. These guys just needed some motivation, but they were skilled after all, he was certain they would be working for the Leaf as shinobi in no time.

On his way back to the Hokage's office, he met up with Kakashi.

"Hey, Naruto!"

"Kakashi-sensei, what's up?"

"Not much, well I'm going to see the Hokage actually. I think she has a new mission for us."

"Oh, cool. Well I was already heading there so…" he said as they walked side by side.

"So, I haven't seen Sasuke yet, but I heard he lost his memory after your fight?"

"Well, that's not exactly right." Naruto answered.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.

He scratched his hair, searching for his words. "He kinda remembers a different reality. It's hard to explain but… before he fought Sasuke, Itachi had met up with me and he had leaked some of his chakra inside me or something…"

"You never told me that," Kakashi frowned.

"Well… I wasn't even sure myself. But when I was fighting Sasuke, and I was out of chakra, Itachi's chakra literally, like, flowed out of me."

"And what happened?" Kakashi asked.

They had reached the Hokage's building but they stayed outside, standing in front of each other.

"I thought… I thought nothing happened at first," Naruto admitted. "But… I think Sasuke's fucked up memories… maybe that's Itachi's genjutsu on him. Or something… I'm probably not making any sense…"

"Not really," Kakashi chuckled. "But anyway, I guess I'll have to talk to him, see for myself."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded fervently. "You should. He's really different than what we're used to."

"I can't say I'm not curious," Kakashi said, "but anyway, for now I guess we should go see the Hokage."

"Sure!" he smiled.

But Kakashi got to see his former student faster than he had expected. When they arrived in Tsunade's office, Sai and Sakura were already there, as well as Sasuke, actually. Naruto and Kakashi were surprised, but they didn't have time to talk…

"You're late, as usual, Kakashi!" Tsunade exclaimed angrily.

"Ah… sorry about that, Tsunade-sama, you see, a lady was trying to get her cat, because it had climbed up a tree…"

Sasuke laughed lightly, and everyone stared at him. He immediately went quiet and his big dark eyes widened. He was probably wondering why it was suddenly so wrong to laugh at Kakashi's lame excuses. Thing was, it was weird to see Sasuke laugh. Maybe, along with his true life story, Naruto should have told him the way he used to act…

"Sorry," Sasuke said, and then looked at Kakashi. "But, Kakashi-sensei, it's very good to see you," he smiled.

Kakashi looked shocked. He turned to look at Naruto.

"Different was an understatement, Naruto," he said. "He actually used the honorific…" he muttered more to himself in disbelief.

"That's all very touching," Tsunade said, "but that's enough. Now listen, Kakashi, I need you guys to go on an A mission. And since Sakura's the one watching over Sasuke, I decided he's going with you. He can help, after all, since he's so eager to serve the Leaf with this new personality of his. Isn't that right, Sasuke?"

Now she was pushing it a little, Naruto thought.

"I'll do my best, Lady Hokage," Sasuke bowed.

Sakura was squealing in delight.

"Well damn," Kakashi muttered.

"Told ya," Naruto chuckled.

"Enough!" Tsunade exclaimed again. "All right. Here's the description of the mission," she handed a document to Kakashi. "You're headed towards the hidden Mist village. Since the war, we are allies, and they have sought our help on this case. There is a rebellious movement going on there. They have taken hostage a Lord and his wife. It's a delicate and tricky mission, which is why I chose you, Kakashi…"

"I understand, Hokage-sama. We'll do our best." Kakashi said.

After that, they were dismissed. But before leaving with the others, Naruto gave the Hokage his report. As expected, she signed it immediately.

"It's okay, I'll take care of it myself," she reassured him, "go get ready for your mission. They will be free when you come back."

"Thank you," he smiled.

"No problem," she said, and he was about to go when she called him again, "and Naruto, please watch over Sasuke. I know I gave this task to Sakura but… she can get emotional. I know you'll do what you have to do if he becomes a threat for this mission."

"I will." He answered.

He walked away and left the building. He hurried to go to his apartment to grab a few essentials. A mission with team seven, plus Sasuke, how nostalgic, he thought. But somehow, he felt like it could only be a good thing…

The fear that Sasuke's real memories would come back to him, and that his urges to get revenge would take over again, was still there though, creating uneasiness in Naruto's heart…

TBC


	6. Team seven

Chapter 5 – Team seven

As they ran through the forests of the Fire country in silence, Kakashi at the front, Naruto and Sakura behind him, and Sai and Sasuke at the back, the latter couldn't help but be extremely glad to be on a mission with them. He didn't think he would have been able to stay back at the village on his own. It didn't feel like home anymore. His home had been the Uchiha clan, after all…

It hurt so much whenever he thought about everything Naruto had told him. But at the same time, it still felt like it was just a bad dream, from which he would wake up anytime soon… But he wasn't waking up. This was real, he had to accept that. But even if he accepted it, he still didn't know what to do. Could he really live like this, as if living a lie? With everyone around him not recognizing him, constantly looking at him funny?

"Are you okay?" Sai asked him suddenly, bringing him out of his dark train of thoughts.

"Yes," he answered, "I'm fine."

He didn't really feel like talking, but it seemed Sai, on the other hand, felt like starting a conversation.

"So your memories are different from this world?"

"Yeah, you could say that," he answered, keeping his gaze right in front of him.

Naruto and Sakura were too far ahead to hear them. Sometimes they threw him glances; as if they were worried he would just disappear or run away at any moment.

"What was I like?" Sai asked. "I mean, in your memories?"

"You were pretty much the same, actually," Sasuke answered, glancing at him sideways. "You decided to stop working for Danzou when Sakura and I told you about bonds, friendship, and how it was like to be part of a team…"

"I see," the pale-skinned guy said thoughtfully, "Well as you said it's pretty much the same thing. Except it was Naruto who made me want to stop following orders blindly…"

"I figured as much," Sasuke replied simply.

"What did I nickname you?"

Sasuke couldn't help but smile. "Ah, you truly are the same. I probably shouldn't say it, but whatever… if you want to know. You called me gay, basically. Fagget, homo, dick-lover, name it…"

"Interesting," Sai said with a serious face.

"You're a weird man, Sai." Sasuke shook his head and sighed.

There was a silence as they ran side by side. The sky was starting to get darker. They would probably stop soon to set up a camp. Suddenly Sasuke got curious, though.

"What have you nicknamed Naruto?"

"Dickless."

"What the hell?"

"What's wrong with that nickname?"

Sasuke chuckled. "Never mind."

Kakashi stopped a few minutes later. They found a good spot in the thick forest, not too far from a river. They prepared their camp in silence, taking out their sleeping bags and some food from their backpacks.

"Thanks for positioning me at the back of our squad, with dick-lover," Sai told Kakashi, pointing at Sasuke, "I enjoyed our little conversations."

Naruto made a funny face. Kakashi, well, probably made one too behind his mask. As for Sakura, she stopped all movements to glare at Sai, green eyes wide in shock and anger. She growled and punched him in the face harshly.

"Don't call Sasuke that!"

"I forgot to mention it, Sai," Sasuke laughed, "but also, every time you used that nickname, Sakura punched the hell out of you."

Sai didn't reply, rubbing his now painful cheek.

Naruto sighed. "It's still better than dickless…"

Kakashi laughed lightly. "Anyway guys, Sasuke and I will take the first turn, if that's all right?" he looked at him.

"Of course," he gave a slight nod.

"Good. And then Naruto and Sakura, and finally Sai and… I will go again I guess." Kakashi said.

Naruto, Sakura and Sai crawled in their sleeping bags around the fire that Sasuke had just lighted up, soon falling asleep for a well deserved rest.

Kakashi and Sasuke just sat in silence for a little while, scanning their surroundings carefully. But they were completely alone in this area of the forest.

"So," Kakashi eventually started, "how much did Sakura and Naruto actually tell you?"

"Sakura didn't tell me much," he shrugged. "She said she wishes I won't recover my true memories…"

Kakashi glanced behind at the pink-haired kunoichi, who was deep in sleep.

"That doesn't surprise me," he sighed, then looked back at Sasuke. "But I guess I can understand her."

Sasuke didn't reply, glancing away at the thick and dark depths of the forest.

"So what you know all came from Naruto, then?" Kakashi asked in a soft voice.

Sasuke nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

"So right now you are determined to protect Konoha?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke turned to look at him, frowning, and wondering where he was getting at.

"Yes," he answered simply.

"What if I told you," he said slowly, on a very serious tone, "that your brother's life has been manipulated, and controlled by the former leaders of Konoha? That Itachi had to deceive you because of that and that in the end he died by your hand. What would you do, then?"

Kakashi was obviously testing him. But it was pointless. Naruto had already told him all that. Although it hurt to hear it again, and in such harsh words, Sasuke didn't want to get revenge. He decided to make that clear for his sensei.

"Naruto already told me," he started, and Kakashi looked surprised. "And," he continued, "Maybe I'm mad, insane, crazy, whatever the term but, in my memories, it was Naruto who left in a quest for revenge." He looked behind him at the blond's sleeping form. He made a little sad smile. "And I couldn't stop him… So I know," he looked back at Kakashi, "that revenge is completely pointless. It's something you desperately hold on to when you feel like you don't have anything else…"

"Well I must say," Kakashi whispered, completely amazed, "I never thought I'd hear those words coming from you one day. And I'll have to congratulate Itachi when I join him in the other world…"

He frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"Because he did it. He beat some sense into you. Honestly, I thought it was too late for that. But I guess it makes sense that in the end, no one else but Itachi could do it…"

Sasuke shook his head slightly, he was still confused.

Kakashi smiled. "You'll understand when you regain your true memories. I hope, anyway. Or, you'll just go berserk again. But I dare hope it will be the former."

The raven, still frowning, swallowed hard, and locked eyes with Kakashi. "But if I become a threat to Konoha again, then I ask of you, Sensei, please kill me then."

"Oh I'm not asking for permission," Kakashi shrugged slightly, "but, thing is, Naruto would never let me do that."

Sasuke's onyx eyes widened, and again he glanced at the blond's sleeping form. The fire's light was dancing in his hair, making red and gold highlights in it. His handsome face seemed troubled as he slept though; maybe he was having a nightmare or something. Kakashi's words kept playing in his mind, _Naruto would never let me do that…_

The rest of their turn was spent in silence. It was only broken when Kakashi was chuckling or muttering some comment to himself as he read his pornographic novel. Sasuke was just rolling his eyes and trying to ignore him.

When it was time to wake the others up, Kakashi went to wake Sakura first. So Sasuke decided to go sit beside Naruto. He put his hand on his shoulder softly.

"Naruto?" he said.

He opened sleepy blue eyes. But when they focused he let out a frightened gasp and crawled away from him. Sasuke stayed still and frowned, confused.

"What is it, Naruto?"

His breathing evened slowly. "Sorry… I just… had a dream that we were fighting and…"

"Oh," Sasuke tilted his head to the side. But he was sick of all this dramatic atmosphere around him, so he decided to tease him a little. "And who was winning?"

Naruto looked surprised by the question, but then he smiled. "I was kicking your ass that's for sure!"

"Well," Sasuke smirked, "it can only be a dream then."

"Bastard…"

Kakashi chuckled as he looked at them. "This feels nostalgic. Anyway, I guess I'm just tired. Naruto, it's your turn to keep guard with Sakura."

"Got it!" Naruto said, then went where their sensei had previously sat.

Sasuke walked up to his own sleeping bag, and then he lay down and closed his eyes, drifting into sleep quickly.

xxx

"Time to wake up, dick lover."

Sasuke frowned, and then opened blurry onyx eyes, only to see Sai's stupid face looming over him. Sasuke sat up and moved away slightly. Sai smiled and went to wake Sakura up. He had probably woken him first so that Sakura wouldn't punch him at his use of the nickname.

He glanced down as he remembered his dreams, confused. He couldn't really remember clearly but, there was a lingering feeling of drowning deep in the water, and reaching for the surface and the light, but not being able to make it. In the dream, no matter how hard he tried to swim back up, he just couldn't…

"Hey you okay?" Naruto suddenly asked him.

He looked up at him and brushed it off. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

Naruto helped him fold his sleeping bag since he was already done with his, and when they were all ready they went to refresh themselves a little at the river.

As Sasuke was bent over, throwing some water at his face, Naruto had the brilliant idea, and probably thought it would be _so_ funny, to use his wind control abilities so that a freakin' wave of water was suddenly thrown at him.

He got up and glared at a laughing Naruto. He was completely soaked now. He ran his fingers through his hair to brush them away from his face.

"Idiot," he said.

Naruto was still laughing.

"Naruto you stupid…" Sakura started running after him, her fist clenched.

"Ahh!" Naruto screamed and ran away from her.

Kakashi sighed. "Guys, could you at least run in the right direction, while you're at it?"

Sasuke couldn't help but smile, even if he was really annoyed. Yes, this Naruto was kind of annoying, but somehow, he thought he could get used to it… And maybe annoy him back, later.

It wasn't long before his clothes dried as they started running again, so it wasn't so bad. They were running in the same formation, so once again he was beside Sai. And this time they kept quiet the whole time.

In the late afternoon they reached the port. They needed to take the boat to reach the water country, and the hidden village of the mist. Honestly, Sasuke thought, missions were strange sometimes. Why had they been chosen to go help Kirigakure, when it was so damn far from Konoha? But he figured, they must have their reasons. Or, the Hokage had made a mistake while attributing the missions…

Kakashi met up with the captain of the boat they would take, and they both nodded as everything seemed in order. They had good timing, because it was departing in just a few minutes. There were a few other passengers, probably just travellers or merchants. Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Kakashi took place on the deck, watching as the crew prepared the sails.

xxx

A few hours later, everyone was inside, in the cabins sleeping, except for two crew members who were just making basic surveillance. Sasuke couldn't sleep, and instead of tossing and turning uncomfortably on the small mattress, he had decided to return to the deck. He was leaning on the handrail, looking absent-mindedly at the calm water. There was barely any wind, and the boat was going at a very slow pace.

He couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he had woken up to be that other version of himself a few days ago. Well, the true version, actually…

Would he have been sent directly to jail, or been executed as a rogue ninja? Why were they protecting him now, if he was a criminal? They had said something about him being under the Hokage's protection for now. But for how long? What would happen when he wasn't under protection anymore?

"You couldn't sleep either?"

He turned around to see Naruto approach him, wearing only his black t-shirt with his orange pants. He had yet to ask Naruto why he was wearing such a colour…

"No," he answered simply.

Naruto came to lean on the handrail beside him. "You seemed all lost in your thoughts…"

He didn't reply, instead he stared right in front of him at the water again.

"You must be freaking out…" Naruto said.

Again, it wasn't really a question, but a statement. But still, Sasuke supposed Naruto was trying to get him to talk.

"I'm fine," he finally said. "I'm just… not sure if I should want to get my memories back or not at this point…"

The blond nodded slowly, but didn't reply. After a moment of silence though, he suddenly took off his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, confused.

"I'm gonna go for a swim," he smiled.

"What? Are you crazy? This water must be freezing…" he frowned.

But Naruto shrugged, climbed over the rail and dived in the water. When he emerged, he shook his now wet hair, and grinned as he looked at Sasuke.

"It's awesome!" he shouted. "Come on!"

"No, forget it," he replied.

"You're boring!" Naruto whined.

He started swimming, and actually he was going slightly faster than the boat… This fact seemed to amuse Naruto greatly.

"Haha! I could like, get to the water country before you guys!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes even though Naruto probably couldn't see him from where he was.

"Sasuke," the blond suddenly said. His tone of voice was serious, almost scared. "I, I think I felt something touch my legs…"

"What? Just get back here you idiot!" Sasuke shouted.

But Naruto had disappeared in the water. And he wasn't coming back out.

Fuck… What an idiot…

Sasuke didn't hesitate. He dived in the water as well, and immediately he spotted his friend… But Naruto wasn't in danger at all. Actually, he looked like he was laughing.

When they both emerged, Sasuke saw that Naruto was indeed laughing.

"You fell for it!"

"Usuratonkachi!" he shouted angrily, and kicked with his legs, swimming powerfully towards Naruto.

"Ah!" Naruto laughed more than screamed, apparently not afraid at all.

Sasuke grabbed his shoulders and pushed him underwater roughly. Naruto struggled to get free, and he was able to push him away and get out of the water after a few moments – but Sasuke hadn't used his full strength.

Before he could say anything, Naruto gasped and jumped out of the water, concentrating his chakra in his feet to be able to stand above it.

"I think I really felt something touch my feet this time…"

Naruto didn't look like he was kidding. A little bit freaked out, Sasuke got out of the water as well. Besides, it really was ice cold. He ran and jumped back on the boat gracefully. Naruto followed. Sasuke noticed one of the crew members was looking at them.

"Man, I really wish I could walk on water just like you ninja people. Sure would be awesome!"

"Oh well, sure is awesome, but it takes loads of training!" Naruto shrugged helplessly and smiled, as he picked up his t-shirt and put it back on.

"Not really," Sasuke chuckled, but his comment was pretty much ignored.

The guy picked up the blanket that had been lying on the bench beside him, and threw it at Naruto. "Here, you must be freezing…"

"Thanks!" the blond exclaimed, wrapping it around his body.

"Well, I'm taking a break, see you guys later…"

Sasuke tried not to be too jealous of Naruto; but he was really cold, and trying to control his shivering, and that blanket looked really warm.

"Where's the other one?" he asked instead, looking around.

He couldn't see the other crew member anywhere. Maybe they were both on a break. But it was kind of careless though, leaving the ship on its own like that. Then again, it was true that the wind was pretty much dead…

"Maybe… they wanted to give us some privacy," Naruto said teasingly.

"W-What?" His dark eyes widened as they snapped at Naruto.

"Sasuke!" Naruto laughed. "Get a sense of humour!"

He sat down with his legs lying in front of him, leaning his back on the rail. He was still smiling at Sasuke.

"Come on," he said, then took off the blanket from around him and offered him, "you can have it, you look like you're freezing."

"I'm fine," he said as he sat beside Naruto. "You keep it."

The blond chuckled, and then shifted to sit closer to Sasuke, and then he wrapped the blanket around them both, keeping his arm around Sasuke's shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke whispered, but didn't pull away.

"Does it bother you?" Naruto shrugged slightly.

"…Hn."

"I'll take that as a… no?"

Sasuke made a little smile and glanced away. It actually felt nice to be sitting so close – well, warmer, mostly. But comforting, too.

They stayed like this for a few minutes, in silence. Sasuke was starting to feel sleepy, but he didn't want to move. Not yet, anyway.

Naruto broke the silence. "Ne, Sasuke?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you promise me something?"

"What?" he asked softly, before turning his head slightly to meet Naruto's big blue eyes.

"When you get your memories back, promise me not to run away from me…"

"…I promise." He said sincerely.

Naruto's lips twitched into a little smile. A beautiful smile, but somehow, it was sad, too. As if he couldn't completely believe in his promise.

Suddenly they heard someone clear his throat. The two guys were back from their break apparently…

Naruto and Sasuke got up, and Naruto gave the blanket back. Without a word, they went to walk down the stairs to the cabins.

"Good night," Naruto said simply.

"Night," Sasuke whispered.

He watched as the blond disappeared in his little cabin, and then he went to his own cabin to try to get some sleep, for what was left of the night.

* * *

><p>AN: Just want to thank you guys for reading, and also for the reviews, they are always appreciated^^


	7. Mission at the hidden mist

Chapter 6 – Mission at the hidden mist

Naruto was a little bit bored. The rest of the travel by boat had been uneventful, and now they had arrived to the Water country. They were running through the forest, on their way to Kirigakure. Sometimes Naruto felt like this was all he ever did as a ninja. If an interviewer were to ask him, what is it like being a ninja? At that moment he would feel like answering, running in forests man…

And Kakashi had kept them in the same formation again, so Naruto was stuck running beside Sakura. Not that he didn't like her, but right now she kept talking about Sasuke. She was unstoppable. Kakashi was too far ahead to hear, and Sai and Sasuke were too far behind, so Naruto was the only lucky one listening…

"… I mean he's different but he's still the same, you know?" She was saying. "I still love him, because he's still the same guy deep down. And honestly, I think it would be best for everyone if he stayed like this. Maybe this is fate. Because he deserves a second chance with us…"

Sure, Naruto pretty much agreed with her. Well except about Sasuke staying like this being better. He personally found it a little bit weird, and at times would like to have the old Sasuke back. Even if he was probably crazy for thinking that – the old Sasuke wanted to kill him after all.

But when Sakura had said all this for the twentieth time, maybe even more, and she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than anything, it was starting to get on Naruto's nerves…

So he was relieved when Kakashi finally stopped. They weren't at the hidden village yet, but they were close.

"All right guys," Kakashi started, "It's time I tell you more about this mission." He took out the mission description from his backpack. "I read this while you guys were sleeping…"

"You mean you can read other things than porn?" Naruto teased him.

"Well," Kakashi shrugged, "I was finished reading my book."

Sasuke laughed. Again, the others stared at him in shock. It was hard to get used to Sasuke laughing. He stopped and cleared his throat.

"Uh… sorry."

"Don't apologize for laughing!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Anyway," Kakashi continued. "Sasuke, what I have to say is about you, actually. You'll have to stay back for now."

Sasuke frowned, waiting for more explanations. But they weren't coming.

"Why, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura finally asked, breaking the silence.

"That's all I'm saying for now," Kakashi said.

Naruto frowned and pointed an accusing finger at him. "But you just said you'd tell us more about the mission!"

"Ah, my bad," Kakashi shrugged.

Naruto was about to protest some more, when Sasuke spoke.

"It's okay. I'll stay here and wait for more orders, sensei."

Kakashi nodded, and then motioned for the others to continue following him to the village. But Naruto was hesitating.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, worried.

"I'll be right behind you," he said.

Kakashi, Sai and Sakura nodded, and started running.

When Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, he was staring at him questioningly.

"What is it?"

Naruto glanced away and scratched his messy blond hair.

"You're not, like," he said shyly, "gonna run away or anything?"

Sasuke's lips twitched into a little smile. He chuckled and brushed his raven bangs out of his eyes. Somehow Naruto liked looking at his every movement, even the simplest.

"You were worried about that?" Sasuke asked softly, and then shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere. I promised, remember?"

Naruto remembered all right, but he couldn't fully believe his friend. For reasons that Sasuke couldn't possibly understand in his current state.

But he nodded and smiled anyway. "I'm gonna come back as soon as I know what's going on!"

Sasuke smiled back, and then Naruto left, running his fastest to catch up to the others.

At the center of the village they met up with one of the Mizukage's assistants. Apparently she was too busy to see them herself.

"The rebellious group is using an old fortress at the East of the village, where I am leading you," the elite Mist ninja explained as they walked. "Their prisoners are being held in the dungeons…"

Kakashi cut him. "How many prisoners? The Hokage only mentioned a Lord and his wife…"

The man shook his head sadly. "They have been killed two days ago. But they are taking more prisoners everyday – ninjas and innocent people."

Naruto frowned as he looked at the villagers. They all looked scared, and overall the atmosphere of the village was heavy and tensed. It made him shiver.

"What is their objective?" Sai asked.

"Didn't you tell them?" the Mist ninja asked their sensei.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Ah… that is… I wanted to let you explain."

Naruto face palmed. Damn Kakashi… He could be so unprofessional at times.

The Mizukage's assistant didn't comment. Instead he started explaining. "They want all the Rogue ninjas currently in jail and on our hunting lists to be freed, and given a second chance."

Naruto's heart skipped a beat. So this was why Sasuke had stayed behind. He was one of the most famous rogue ninja, after all, and even if he was on the temporary protection of Tsunade, it would have been inappropriate.

"We are almost there," the man said as he stopped walking, "but let me explain further…"

They went to a small tea house and sat at a table together. The man wanted them to be able to rest a little before officially beginning their mission.

As the four of them were drinking their tea quietly, he spoke again.

"You probably know this already, but our law for rogue ninjas is the strictest of all ninja villages. We have squads deployed for the only task of finding them and bringing them back – dead or alive."

Again, Naruto shivered. He couldn't help but feel sympathetic to this so-called rebellious group's cause. He didn't approve of the killing of innocent prisoners, though.

"The leaders of this movement are three elite Mist ninjas. Tsumi is the most powerful. Her boyfriend has recently been executed, despite all her efforts with the Mizukage to free him."

"What was his crime?" Naruto couldn't help but ask.

Beside him, Sakura also looked shaken up.

"He was a rogue ninja," he answered simply, "he deserted right in the middle of a mission. But he came back of his own free will, saying he had made a mistake…"

Naruto frowned. "And he was killed anyway?"

The man sighed. "It is our law."

"What about the two other leaders?" Kakashi asked.

"Ibumo and Saito. They are brothers, and teammates. And they wish to avenge the former third member of their team, who has also been killed for being a rogue ninja. She deserted when the recent ninja war was announced…"

Kakashi cut him again. "I understand their motives. But political matters are something beyond our reach," he said, throwing a meaningful glance at Naruto. "Now, what can you tell me about their powers?"

"I believe," the man said, "the Hokage chose your team to help us because you have experience fighting ninjas with water style abilities?" Kakashi simply nodded. He continued, "They are experts at it, needless to say. As for the girl, Tsumi, she can also control lightning, which makes her a terrible opponent."

When they finished their tea, they started walking again. When they arrived to the ancient fortress, they retreated to the forest not to be seen.

Before leaving them for their mission, the Mizukage's assistant gave Kakashi an old map of the fortress. He also added a few words on the current situation.

"We have interrupted the killings of the rogue ninjas. But they will not be satisfied until they are freed. The Mizukage cannot agree to that, of course. But they have many precious ninjas and villagers in the dungeons, and they are ready to kill them to threaten us. So we are in sort of a dead end. We believe they have about thirty followers, and the number increases everyday. In my honest opinion, and even if it saddens me, the three leaders will have to be killed for this mission to be successful."

Kakashi thanked him for all the information and help, and then he took his leave.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto immediately said, "I disagree with him. I don't want to kill these guys…"

He sighed. "I knew you would say that, Naruto."

"I also agree with him," Sakura said. "But the safety of the prisoners comes first. This whole thing doesn't make any sense! Their goal is to save lives, yet they take innocent people's lives to achieve it!"

"I don't think," Kakashi said in a low voice, "I have to remind you that revenge can drive certain people crazy…"

Naruto and Sakura went quiet.

Kakashi sat and leaned against a tree, studying the map he had just been given.

Sai broke the silence. "What was Hokage-sama thinking? Sending Sasuke with us on this mission…"

Naruto gasped. "Sasuke! I have to go get him now!"

To his surprise, Kakashi immediately nodded. "Sure. It's the best choice. Even though I agree with Sai, we can't just leave him alone. It's not any better if he is found by water ninja guards."

Naruto didn't lose any time. He started running – in the forest yet again. But he wanted to counter the village, and not run straight through it; it would be suspicious. He concentrated and turned into Sage mode to increase his speed and make sure he would feel Sasuke's chakra.

But when he did feel it, he couldn't find Sasuke anywhere. He was starting to panic, when Sasuke appeared right in front of him. He was smirking.

"Why are you making that face? It was just a genjutsu dobe. Precaution."

"Ah, yeah," Naruto scratched his hair, laughing, "I knew that!"

"…Right."

"Hey what did you just call me?"

Sasuke frowned. "What?"

"You called me dobe."

"Oh, uh, sorry…"

"No don't apologize! Felt good to hear it!" Naruto exclaimed, laughing, and he slapped Sasuke's back in a friendly way.

Maybe a little too friendly, because Sasuke almost lost his balance, and had to put a foot in front of him not to fall. When Sasuke looked back at him, it was clear that he found him a little bit weird.

"Anyway, let's go!" Naruto exclaimed, and they started running together.

"So why did I have to stay back?"

The blond sighed. "See, the shinobi we're fighting in this mission, their objective is the freedom of the rogue ninjas… But it's against the law of course. So, since you are one, it would have been inappropriate I guess…"

"Can I still help you on the mission?" Sasuke asked, his voice showing no sign of emotion whatsoever.

"Of course, yeah, we'll just have to wait hear Kakashi-sensei's plan…"

xxx

Kakashi's plan was a little bit crazy, Sasuke thought as he crept up toward the fortress at night. Kakashi wanted him to pretend to seek their help, and then infiltrate in order to free the prisoners. Crazy and suicidal.

Naruto hadn't been too happy with this plan at first, but they hadn't come up with anything better. The blond had talked to him a little bit apart from the others. Sasuke couldn't help but smile at the thought. Naruto had told him to act like a bastard and prick in order to have some credibility. Sasuke had promised him he would try his best to do just that. He doubted acting too much like a bastard would work to infiltrate the place as an ally though…

He would just have to improvise a little. But hey, he was a ninja. He could do anything. Or, in the worst case, use genjutsu on them. His eyes felt different. Well his eyesight was perfect. It had deteriorated a little, before… well in his fake memories - he was accepting the fact that they were fake now. But it was more than just that, he didn't know what exactly though.

He arrived at the side entrance to the fortress. It was hard to find, but with Kakashi they had studied the map thoroughly. So he knew where he was going. Even if it was well hidden, and he had to crawl down a little cliff to actually get to the entrance below, there were still five people guarding it. They immediately raised their swords, the blades brushing against the exposed skin of his neck.

"I'm not an enemy." He simply said.

"I recognize him," one of them frowned, "he's Uchiha Sasuke. Lower your swords. If he had wanted to kill us, he would've done it already."

And so they did. Well, well, looked like he had a nice reputation…

"What do you want with us, Uchiha?" The same man, apparently the leader of this little squad, asked.

"Being a rogue ninja myself, I want to join your movement."

"What's in it for you?" He frowned, his hand still clenched tightly on the hilt of his sword.

"I have nowhere else to go at the moment," he said, hoping the news of his being back in Konoha and under the Hokage's protection hadn't reached this people.

"Go get Tsumi," the man told one of his teammates.

The latter nodded and pushed the heavy looking door open, disappearing inside.

Sasuke didn't so much as glance down, but he knew a few of Sai's little ink mice were crawling their way inside to do some spying and exploring. Well, that much had been achieved…

A few seconds later, a young girl – she couldn't be much older than Sasuke – with a long chestnut ponytail and violet eyes that reminded him of Suigetsu joined them. She seemed to blush a little when she met Sasuke's eyes, but he couldn't be sure because it was so dark.

"Uchiha Sasuke," she said, "so you wish to join us?"

Her voice was trembling a little, as if she were nervous or flustered. Sometimes, Sasuke thought, it came in handy that all the girls liked him. This one seemed to be no exception.

"Yes," he said.

"How have you heard of us?" she asked, apparently still a little suspicious.

"The Water country was my current hiding place," he improvised. "Everyone is talking about your group these days."

They bought it.

"I am Tsumi," she introduced herself very simply. "Come in."

The guards stayed outside, and Sasuke followed her inside and through a long, creepy hallway. It reminded him of Orochimaru's hideouts, actually. He almost stopped short and gasped, but he caught himself in time, and continued walking beside the girl as if nothing was wrong. He had never been to an Orochimaru hideout…

Was he remembering some of his true memories, now of all times? No matter what, he couldn't let it distract him. He had to stay completely calm.

She finally pushed a door open. Two men were sitting in a meeting room, apparently discussing strategies. One of them was wearing a headband, but it was just plain blue with no symbol on it. He seemed to be about twenty years old, wore a sword on his back and had long brown hair. The other guy's appearance was very similar, but he wasn't wearing any headband, and his hair was shorter.

"These are the guys who started this group with me," she explained. "Saito," she pointed the one with the headband, "and his twin brother Ibumo." She pointed at the other one. "Guys, this is Sasuke, he wants to join us."

He stayed silent, keeping on a blank face. Saying hi and smiling wouldn't fit the description Naruto had given him, after all.

"Famous rogue ninja, aren't you?" the one named Saito got up. "Well if you want to help us defy the ninja laws, I'll be glad to work with you."

Sasuke only gave a slight nod.

"We were discussing our next move," Tsumi told him. "I think you could be a great help…"

He sat with them, and continued improvising as they talked strategy and politics. They wanted to find ways to make the Mizukage flinch. But Sasuke knew this was all pointless. He kind of felt sorry for these guys. They wanted revenge for their loved ones, who had been killed because of these ninja laws. In his alternate memories, Naruto had been the rogue ninja. And Sasuke could understand their feelings…

But it was all pointless for the simple reason that Kakashi and the others would attack soon. He was only waiting for the signal…

He didn't have to wait long. The mice had probably returned to Sai, letting him know Sasuke had successfully infiltrated the place.

"We're being attacked!"

Shouting and screaming could soon be heard as everyone was getting out to defend the fortress. The twin brothers immediately stormed outside as well. Only Tsumi stayed back, frowning.

"Is this your doing?"

He saw no point in lying. "Yes. I was ordered to do this. I'm sorry. But if I can say something, in order to spare your life, and your friends, talk to my friend Naruto, outside. I know he wants to try and find a better solution than violence."

"There's no other solution," she hissed.

She quickly unsheathed her sword and stabbed him in the chest. She was shocked as he didn't even move. But then his body disappeared. It was a genjutsu.

The real him was already running towards the dungeons. He knew the way, thanks to the map. In the chaos no one was stopping him. Even a large group like that didn't stand much of a chance against Kakashi, Naruto and Sai. So they all needed to go help.

It was easy for Sasuke to knock out the few remaining guards at the dungeons. He stole the keys from them, and proceeded to free all the prisoners. Some of them recognized him. Needless to say, they were very confused as to why Uchiha Sasuke, international criminal, was saving them of all people. But he gave them no answer.

He only spoke when they were all freed. There were ten of them. Mostly villagers, it seemed. Even if their cause was understandable, Tsumi and the others hadn't really played fair. Their prisoners looked like they were malnourished.

"Follow me," he said. "The ones who can walk help the others!"

They followed his orders even if they were still evidently confused as to what was going on. There was a secret passage leading outside. Sasuke had to break open a heavy metallic door, using lightning energy on the lock. Then they had to climb up rotten stairs. Sasuke stayed back to help the weaker ones get all the way up. The door that led outside was already destroyed. Sakura had most likely used explosives on it.

Sure enough, she was waiting for them on the other side.

"Thank God, Sasuke," she smiled when he got out last.

After that she immediately proceeded to heal the ones who were injured.

As for Sasuke, he ran to the other side of the fortress, where his friends were fighting. They had already managed to break through their defences and they were now fighting on the inside ground, above the high stoned walls. Sasuke reflexively focused his chakra to his feet and climbed up the wall. An enemy threw a shuriken at him but he deflected it with his kunai.

Once he jumped to the ground he immediately knocked out the one who had thrown him the weapon. Glancing around him and taking in the situation, he saw that Naruto had made some shadow clones, and he was okay. Kakashi and Sai had two or three opponents each, but they seemed fine as well.

But Sasuke noticed Tsumi, Ibumo and Saito were staying back. He could feel their chakras; they were hiding behind a wall and most likely analyzing the situation and discussing what to do. Sasuke decided to ignore them for now. After all, if they were lucky, maybe the three of them would decide to surrender.

So he picked up a sword from a fallen opponent, and went to help Naruto with his enemies. The blond threw him a quick glance, smiling. Sasuke had no idea if it was a shadow clone or the real one, but oh well. They fought side by side, taking down their enemies very quickly. They weren't killing them, only knocking them out.

As soon as the last opponent was down, though, the three leaders of the group came out. Sasuke frowned. They had wanted them to tire out before attacking. They had no intention to surrender. But they were underestimating his team.

The girl and twin brothers jumped off the fortress before they could stop them. They were very fast. Kakashi immediately ordered to pursue them, so the four of them jumped off as well. Sasuke had a pretty good idea what their enemies were plotting. They would lead them by the nearest riverside, so their water style could be most effective. And they had no choice but to pursue them, otherwise their missions wouldn't be complete.

He remembered Kakashi's words. _Our objective is to get them arrested, kill them only if you don't have a choice. _

One of the brothers split from the two others, and Kakashi and Sai went after him. Sasuke continued pursuing the other brother, Saito, if he wasn't mistaken, and Naruto went after Tsumi.

They were getting dangerously close to the river. But Sasuke was running faster than him, so he decided to stop this right there. He threw four shuriken at his enemy's back as he ran, and the latter had no choice but to throw himself to the ground to evade the deadly weapons. When he got back up Sasuke was already on him, his Chidori blade raised.

Saito rolled on the ground and managed to get back to his feet, drawing his own sword. They crossed blades, but Sasuke could see through the other's every movement. The other backed off, understanding he was no match against the Uchiha at sword fighting. Instead he formed hand signs and immediately they were surrounded by a tick mist, and it was impossible to see anything.

But the raven smirked. He closed his eyes, perfectly calm and concentrated. He didn't need his eyes to know where the other was. He was perfectly trained to recognize his surroundings only by hearing. He frowned slightly; the other one was coming at him with the clear intention to slaughter him. Still, Sasuke didn't want to kill him. So he swiftly turned around, blocked Saito's blade with his at the last second, and letting out a grunt he kicked him to the ground. The mist disappeared.

Saito tried to get back up, but Sasuke knocked his head, and he fell unconscious. If Sakura, or other medics from Kirigakure, got to them on time, he would be fine for sure.

Sasuke concentrated, and as he detected Naruto's and Tsumi's chakras, he ran towards them.

As he had expected, Naruto was holding back, not wanting to kill this young girl seeking revenge. But young girl or not, she was very dangerous. And Naruto was in a tricky situation. Sasuke, feeling like a knight in shining armour, arrived at the perfect moment. Naruto had just been thrown roughly in the river, and Tsumi was about to channel lightning energy through the water. Sasuke pushed his body to move even faster.

He jumped, encircled his arms around Naruto, and jumped again, bringing them safely to the other shore in time. The very next instant, deadly lightning energy was running through the river, at the exact spot Naruto had been.

"Good timing," Naruto said, impressed.

"I know," Sasuke chuckled, still panting.

"You can let go now," he said, amused.

He realized he still had his arms around Naruto's thin waist. He quickly pulled away and got back up. Naruto did likewise.

"As I told you before," the blond shouted at their equally exhausted opponent, "Surrender now, and I will help you! We will go talk to the Mizukage together, and ask her to revise the law!"

She sighed, and shouted even louder, "Do you really think I haven't tried that before?"

"It's no use, Naruto," Sasuke said sadly.

The blond let out a frustrated sigh. "Shadow clone no jutsu!"

With his four shadow clones he jumped back to the other shore, and attacked Tsumi. But she was a very skilled sword fighter, even Sasuke was impressed. He got worried when she brought down the shadow clones quickly, and there was only the real Naruto left. So he jumped as well, ready to help him.

But the girl seemed on the verge of breaking down. And as she crossed her sword with Naruto's kunai, Sasuke could tell she wasn't putting her heart into it.

Naruto pushed her away and she fell to the ground.

"I understand how you feel!" Naruto exclaimed fervently. "I heard your story. And I'm in the same situation you were! If someone were to…" He looked at Sasuke, who was standing right beside him, with sad blue eyes, and then he looked back at Tsumi. She was still on the ground, and her big violet eyes were locked with Naruto's; she was listening to his every word. "If someone were to kill him, just because he's a rogue ninja, I wouldn't forgive them!" he exclaimed. "Not now, when he's willingly working with us again! I will do everything I can, to defend…"

"I tried!" She shouted, interrupting him. Tears were falling from her eyes. She wiped them out in frustration. "I tried, but they killed him anyway… It's not fair…"

Naruto sighed shakily, and then he walked up to her. He sat beside her, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Sasuke also walked closer, but only because he was still worried she would try to harm him. But instead she buried her face in his chest and cried. Naruto looked up at him helplessly. Sasuke didn't know what to say.

xxx

The mission was finished. The prisoners were all right, Sakura had done a great job, and then the medics from Kirigakure had taken over. Kakashi and Sai had also defeated their opponent pretty easily. Now the three former leaders were in jail, as well as the rest of their followers. And Sasuke, Kakashi, Sai and Sakura were waiting outside of the Mizukage's headquarters. Naruto had wanted to talk to her personally. Kakashi hadn't objected; after all, Naruto wanted to become the next Hokage. Such an experience was good for him.

When he got out, they all looked at him expectantly. Naruto made a little smile.

"They're not gonna be killed," he said simply. "And the Mizukage agreed to revise the laws about rogue ninjas to prevent such a thing from happening again."

Sakura gasped. "That's great, Naruto! How did you do it?"

"She couldn't resist my charm, of course, hehe…"

"You idiot!" Sakura punched him in the face.

"Ow that hurt!" Naruto screamed in pain, rubbing the reddening skin on his cheek.

Sakura snorted. "It'll teach you to say such silly things…"

Sasuke could only stare at them in shock. He had yet to get used to this particular relationship between the pink-haired girl and the blond.

"I'm proud of you, Naruto," Kakashi smiled behind his mask.

"I'm proud of you too, dickless."

"Shut up Sai," Naruto snapped.

And with that said, they began their journey back.

TBC


	8. Nightmares

Chapter 7 – Nightmares

In the evening, Kakashi decided to stop at a small village at the border of the Water country. They would take the boat the next morning. For now, he wanted them to go to an inn and get some rest.

Sasuke was glad for this. He really was exhausted, and he could tell the others felt the same.

At the small hotel, they decided to go to the baths before it was night. Sakura wasn't with them, but on the girls' side of course. In the changing rooms, Naruto and Sasuke were the last ones to get ready. Kakashi and Sai were already in the bath.

Sasuke surprised himself by constantly feeling the urge to check Naruto out. With this god damn ridiculous orange jumpsuit, he could never see his body properly. But now, as he took off his fishnet shirt slowly, and then his pants… Sasuke couldn't help but stare. Naruto was thin, but had very developed muscles. The emerald pendant around his neck looked really hot against Naruto's smooth looking tan skin.

"What?" Naruto asked innocently. He was just in his underwear now.

Sasuke felt heat rising to his face, and he quickly glanced away. "Ah, sorry, I was just looking at your necklace."

It wasn't entirely a lie.

"Oh," Naruto said casually, "Granny Tsunade gave it to me. While ago, long story…"

Sasuke finished taking his clothes off, and wrapped a white towel around his waist. When he turned around, Naruto was also wearing only a towel. But more importantly, his face was all red and he was staring at him. Maybe Sasuke wasn't the only one doing some checking out after all…

"Let's go," Naruto said nervously, scratching the back of his head.

They joined Kakashi and Sai, taking off their towels at the last second before getting into the hot steamy water. Sasuke forced himself not to stare at Naruto, even though he really wanted to. Damn hormones. He glanced at Kakashi. His eyes were closed, and he seemed totally relaxed. The idiot was still wearing a mask on the lower half of his face, even if they were taking a bath. Then he glanced at Sai, who was sitting on the opposite side of their sensei. He realized Sai was staring at Naruto. Why the hell was he staring at Naruto? And why the hell was it bothering him so much?

He tried to clear his thoughts, to relax. It worked a little. He let his body lose its tension in the hot water and closed his eyes for a moment, imitating Kakashi. But after a few minutes, when he opened his tired dark eyes again, he frowned. In front of him, Sai was now sitting right beside Naruto.

Naruto looked uncomfortable. Putting the guys together in a separate bath kind of lost its purpose if they were all gay, Sasuke thought. He wasn't sure about Naruto, although he had checked him out earlier, and last time Sasuke checked he was a guy. Sai was definitely gay. Just by his clothes, it was obvious enough. The only straight one was Kakashi, then. With all the porn about women he read, if he was gay, then he was a damn good actor.

"All right, guys, I think I'm gonna go," Kakashi suddenly said.

Without one more word, he got out of the water, covered himself with his towel and went back inside.

Great, Sasuke thought, now they were two, maybe three gay dudes together naked in a bath. Could it possibly get more awkward?

Yes, it could. Sai put his arm around Naruto's shoulders.

"What the hell, Sai, what are you doing?" Naruto exclaimed, swimming away from him.

"Just being friendly," Sai said innocently. "Like it said in one of my books…"

Friendly, yeah right, more like horny, Sasuke thought.

Naruto came to sit beside Sasuke instead. The latter smirked at Sai. Then he stopped, feeling foolish and childish. It wasn't a game after all… The, who would Naruto choose game? Seriously now, Sasuke must have been tired or something…

"You should be careful what kind of books you read." Naruto told Sai.

"Whatever," he replied, "I'm gonna go to sleep now. Good night dickless."

"Will you stop calling me that!" Naruto exclaimed angrily, "Do you want me to show it to you or what?"

Sasuke raised a brow.

"Sure," Sai said.

"Eh? What the hell I was kidding!" Naruto shouted, obviously a little freaked out.

Sai just shrugged and then he left, closing the door behind him.

Now it was just the two of them. But it was no big deal. Sasuke just had to control himself, to stay calm, to relax. He closed his eyes again, enjoying the soothing hot water…

Naruto suddenly poked him in the forehead. "Sasuke! Don't fall asleep!"

"I wasn't sleeping," he whispered, rubbing his forehead.

But his eyes were still closed, and an image had appeared in his mind. It was all blurry, but it was totally freaking him out. A memory? He gasped slightly and his eyes snapped open. Suddenly he wasn't feeling so well…

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, concerned.

"Itachi used to do that," he whispered, his fingers lingering on his forehead.

"What?" the blond frowned, confused.

"Never mind…"

But it wasn't the fact that Itachi used to do that which bothered him. It was the blurry mental image that was lingering in his mind, of Itachi's bleeding face…

"You can tell me," Naruto insisted. "You know I'm here for you."

Sasuke glanced at him sideways and made a little smile. He put his hand back inside the water and hugged himself even if he wasn't cold at all.

"I know," he whispered. "But it's nothing."

"If you say so," Naruto said, but he didn't seem convinced.

They stayed silent a few minutes. But this time, it was Sasuke who broke the silence. Something had come back to mind, and he was curious…

"Naruto, how did you convince the Mizukage? Aside from your charms," He added teasingly.

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah no it wasn't my charms at all. It was yours."

"What?" Sasuke frowned, "I've never even met her…"

"Yes you have."

"Oh."

"You fought her, at the Kage summit… and you left quite an impression. She told me she had never been so sad to have to kill such a handsome guy. Of course she didn't end up killing you but it was close…"

"Why the hell did I fight the Mizukage?" Sasuke muttered, shocked.

"Long story, I guess…" Naruto sighed. "Anyway, I decided to tell her your story… you know, since you're a rogue ninja. To explain her how I feel, how Tsumi feels at the same time…"

"And it worked?"

"Yeah she kept asking questions about you." He chuckled, glancing at him sideways. "She wanted to hear your story, so I told her. And since you're a rogue ninja and all, she decided to become less strict, kinda like Tsunade, or to try anyway… I did the best I could I guess. I'm just glad Tsumi and the others won't be killed."

He stopped talking, but he looked like he had something more to say. His blue eyes and smile seemed nostalgic.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, running long pale fingers through his raven hair, wetting them a little in the process.

He noticed Naruto was looking at his every movement.

"Ah, nothing, it's just," Naruto shrugged, "Some things never change, I guess. All the girls like you."

"Yeah and I don't even like girls."

Shit, had he said that out loud?

From the shocked look in Naruto's wide blue eyes, he supposed he had.

"Wow…" he said, "confessions, confessions, huh?"

At least he wasn't swimming away from him, like he had done with Sai earlier.

"I mean I kind of knew it, I guess," Naruto continued, "but I wasn't sure."

"How did you know it?" He asked.

"Well all the girls like you, like I said before, and you just never really cared. And… well when you copied Orochimaru's style, wearing open shirts and a purple bow around your waist, that was pretty gay…"

Sasuke's onyx eyes widened in shock; he was completely horrified.

"What's wrong?" Naruto frowned.

"I… I was wearing… that?"

The blond burst out laughing. "Yeah! Sorry, just being honest!"

"Ugh…"

"Hey I'm gonna go," Naruto said, walking away slowly. Then he turned, "you coming?"

"Yeah…"

Again, he forced himself not to look at Naruto's hot, lean, muscular naked body as he got out of the water... Okay so maybe he looked a little.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and followed him inside and to the changing room. He decided to take a shower in a closed stall, to be able to _relieve_ a certain part of his body…

xxx

Later, that night, his body jolted upright on his small mattress. He was panting, and freaked out as he remembered his dream. Only in small flashes though. In his dream, at first it had been the same as usual, he was trying not to drown, trying to reach for the light… And then it had changed to an image of his brother. The same as before, in the bath… Itachi walking towards him, his arm raised as if he wanted to harm him. But then he only poked him in the forehead. There was blood coming out of his mouth, yet he was smiling. _I'm sorry, Sasuke, this is the last time. _

"Sasuke?" Naruto's voice whispered.

He was sitting up on his own mattress nearby. Further, Kakashi and Sai looked like they were still sleeping soundly. The blond blinked and rubbed his tired eyes. Then he made his way to sit right next to him.

He was wearing a white t-shirt with a swirl on it. His blond hair was still slightly wet from the shower. Sasuke looked up in his deep blue eyes. Somehow, they were like an anchor through all this madness…

"I think," he started, but it came out more as a strangled whisper.

"Yeah?" Naruto encouraged him in a soft, concerned voice.

"I think I dreamed about… Itachi's death," he said, and he realized tears were rolling down his cheeks.

Naruto's expression saddened. He let out a small, quiet sigh, and shifted closer. Then he wrapped his arms around him, softly, almost carefully, as if he were some fragile object.

He returned the hug, pulling Naruto closer, and crying on his shoulder…

xxx

"Uh, guys?"

That was Kakashi's voice… Sasuke frowned, slowly waking up. When he opened his eyes, he realized he was sleeping with Naruto, an arm around his thin waist, and his head resting on his chest. Naruto's arm was also tightly holding him. Well damn…

He quickly pulled away, waking Naruto up in the process. They didn't say a word, and started to get ready to go.

Later, on the way back to the Fire country, Sasuke was leaning on the handrail, looking at the waves crashing on the boat. He was lost in his thoughts. He couldn't get the memory of Itachi's death out of his head. His face was haunting him, his smile, his last words… It made him feel so sad, so bitter, so _angry_… He didn't fully understand where those feeling came from, but they were all the more painful and frustrating.

It wasn't like he didn't know the whole story. Naruto had told him. But it had been more like a… distant tale, a story that didn't truly concern him… Sasuke didn't even know how to explain it himself. Probably because he lacked the memories, he hadn't been able to fully comprehend Naruto's story, even though it was about him.

He had been the one to kill Itachi. And his brother had smiled. Of course, according to Naruto's story, Itachi had planned the whole thing. He had wanted to be killed by him. But, Sasuke frowned, frustrated, why hadn't he seen through it? How could his own brother have deceived him so easily?

It was haunting him now, these thoughts, constantly. They played over and over again in his mind, like a broken record.

"Are you okay, Sasuke?" Sakura suddenly asked.

She came to stand beside him, holding a basket of fruits, her green eyes looking at his profile. He didn't even feel like looking back at her. But then he took a hold of himself. Why did he want to be so mean to her? It wasn't her fault…

"I'm okay," he finally replied, turning to smile at her.

He knew it was a weak, sad smile, but it was all he could manage at this point.

"Do you want some?" she offered him some fruits.

"Oh, no, thank you, I'm not hungry…"

He felt like if he tried to eat, he would only throw it up right away…

"Have you recovered some of your memories?" She asked him, and she looked scared of his answer.

He chose to lie to her. He just really didn't feel like explaining…

"No, not really…"

"Oh, okay," she said, but he could tell she didn't believe him.

What a great shinobi he was, lying to his own teammates…

She stayed beside him for a moment in silence, and then she walked away. Sasuke continued staring unfocusedly at the water. Maybe Sakura had been right all along. Maybe it would have been better if he wouldn't have recovered any of these god damn memories… Hearing the story from Naruto was one thing. Actually reliving those moments was another…

xxx

The next morning, Naruto woke up early. He hadn't been able to sleep much. He was haunted by nightmares of Sasuke leaving him, or killing him, or killing Sakura or Kakashi, because he was even more insane than ever before after remembering his true memories. Somehow, he understood what Sasuke was going through. He understood that he was about to relive his painful life, all at once… Or maybe he had already, during the night? His heart squeezed painfully in his chest at the thought. It was like they were connected, in a way.

He was so worried for him… He sighed, got up quietly, and went to the small hallway. In the other cabins, everyone was still sleeping. He made his way to Sasuke's cabin. Naruto's heart started beating faster, even though he didn't really know why. The door wasn't closed. He pushed it open softly.

"Sasuke?" he whispered.

The raven was sitting on his unmade bed, with his head in his hands. He was trembling, and breathing hard. Naruto stepped closer, but then he stopped short when Sasuke looked up. His onyx eyes were cold, hateful. Naruto forced himself not to step back. He waited, holding his breath.

But Sasuke wasn't talking.

"So you… remember everything?" Naruto asked in a low voice, even though he already knew the answer.

Sasuke frowned and glanced down. "Why did he do that?" he whispered.

His voice sounded almost feverish. It was cold, and mad. Naruto's heart sank; this was exactly what he had feared. Sasuke was going to go mad again… He would lose him again…

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Sasuke was still there. Nothing had happened yet. He just had to stay calm.

"You mean, the genjutsu?" he asked carefully.

"Why did he put his chakra into you?" Sasuke asked, gripping at his hair with his hands. "Why did he do that?" he repeated. "What's the point...?"

Naruto stepped closer and carefully reached with his hand to grab Sasuke's arm, to stop him from gripping at his hair so roughly. But Sasuke pushed him away harshly, standing.

"Don't come closer," he hissed.

Tears started rolling down Naruto's whiskered cheeks, he couldn't stop them.

"Sasuke…" he whispered. "Do you remember, also, these past few days…?"

The raven didn't reply. He didn't even look at him. Instead he walked passed him, shoving him out of the way roughly. Naruto snapped out of it, and followed him as he climbed up the stairs quickly.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Again, Sasuke ignored him. He glanced at the shore, then at the water. Then he stepped closer to the edge…

"Sasuke!" he yelled. Sasuke stopped, but didn't turn around. "If you run away now, I'll follow you!" He warned. "And then I'll bring you back again… It's pointless!"

Sasuke turned his head back slightly. Their eyes met for the briefest instant, and Naruto saw all the pain in the world as he looked at him. But then Sasuke jumped. He ran incredibly fast on the water, towards the shore. Naruto was about to follow him, but someone was holding him back.

"Kakashi!" he shouted as he saw that it was him. "Let me go! I'm not letting him escape this time…"

But Kakashi was holding his arms firmly. He wasn't letting go. And Naruto felt too exhausted, too emotionally drained to fight to escape. Instead he let himself fall down, crying.

"The Leaf needs you, Naruto." Kakashi said simply.

"Sasuke needs me, too…" he whispered.

"I know. But you have to wait. Maybe he'll come back."

"No, you know he won't…"

"Don't be so sure." Kakashi replied. "Give him some time. Give yourself some time, too. And then, you'll see what happens…"


	9. All that's left

Chapter 8 – All that's left

He collapsed on the cold stoned ground. It was ruins now, this place - where he had fought Itachi. He could remember every moment, every second of it.

He had been running for days. From the Fire country, all the way to the North, and now, near the former Akatsuki base, to the ground that had seen battle with his brother. The whole area was desolate. He couldn't feel any shinobi's chakra for miles. So he crawled to the wall, at the very same place Itachi had spoken his last words to him. He sat and leaned on it, looking at the ruins around him with sad and desperate dark eyes. Then he closed them, and tilted his head back. The cold wind was rough yet somehow appeasing.

Sasuke was too exhausted to care about the cold. He was already in a half-dream state. The genjutsu his brother had casted on him through Naruto was still playing, and replaying in his mind. The memories were mixing with reality. But of course he knew all too well which were true.

His brother had wanted him to know what it was to care about a village, precious friends, a home… He had wanted him to know how it felt to be able to protect said village, and to have the wish to protect it, no matter what…

At the same time, it had had the effect of making him understand Naruto. Sasuke had no idea if Itachi had planned that. Knowing him, probably, Sasuke thought, a smile curling around his lips. Itachi had always seen through everything, every possibility…

And now, despite the rage, the hatred, the frustration and bitterness that were in his heart – that hadn't changed much – he couldn't bring himself to make plans of destroying Konoha. He simply wouldn't do it, because if the feeling that he belonged in Konoha had been way too faint to change anything before, now, because of Itachi's genjutsu, it was much stronger. And also, he didn't want to kill Naruto…

Funny how, in the different versions, they were always complete opposites. And yet, during the past few days, they had somehow been closer than ever before, finally understanding each other…

"Nii-san," Sasuke whispered, his eyes still closed, and a little smile lingering on his lips, "You played tricks on me 'til the very end… Thank you."

xxx

Naruto was running through the endless forests at the North of the Fire country, yet his current state of mind was way too dark to possibly make inner jokes about that. He simply hadn't been able to follow Kakashi's advice to stay at the Leaf for now. They didn't need him back there at the moment. His team had just finished an important mission after all, and they had a few days off. Kakashi had warned him not to leave, and Sakura and Sai had been worried for him, but Naruto hadn't listened to them. He wanted to find Sasuke, and he had a pretty good idea where he had gone.

Sasuke had always been such an intense, passionate person. Even though when they were younger, he had appeared as an emotionless guy, it was the opposite. Sasuke had always been consumed by his emotions, Naruto knew that now. He understood that. And he wanted to help him. He just needed to.

This brought back a memory for Naruto. Almost a year ago now, with his friends they had been searching for Sasuke in this area. They had almost found him on time. But Madara had been faster. After Sasuke's battle with his brother, the masked man had been the one to rescue him. Naruto had often wondered… What if he had been the one to find Sasuke back then? But now he knew that it was pointless. Sasuke would have probably been a ghost of himself. He would have been bitter, with no purpose, never knowing the truth. This was Naruto's conclusion, anyway, and he didn't want to think about the past anymore.

And he also wanted Sasuke to stop thinking about the past – which would be a much bigger challenge. But he had to try.

It had started raining. The cold wind combined to the rain was making Naruto shiver. He was also very tired; as soon as they had arrived to Konoha, he had taken his decision to go after Sasuke. He hadn't stopped running since then. But he had at least stopped at his apartment to bring some water and food.

It was night when he found him. His guess had been right. Sasuke was lying on the ground against the ruins of a stoned wall, curled up on his side. His face was buried in his arms, as if to protect it from the rain and cold. His raven hair and thin black clothes were completely soaked.

Naruto walked up to him carefully. He sat beside him. Sasuke didn't move. He put his hand on his shoulder, and noticed that he was trembling. He rolled him on his back.

"Sasuke?" He called.

The raven frowned slightly, and opened his eyes. He sat up, glancing around him, then back at Naruto.

"You found me." He said simply.

"Of course I found you, you're kinda predictable you know that?" Naruto made a little smile.

Sasuke didn't reply. But in his onyx eyes Naruto could see the faintest glint of amusement as he held his gaze. Well, that was better than nothing.

"Do you know if we can find a shelter around here?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah…"

Sasuke got up, but seemed to be a little bit too weak to walk on his own. Naruto hesitantly took his hand, and seeing that he wasn't protesting, put his arm around his shoulders. Sasuke led them to the entrance of the cave, where Naruto noticed an Uchiha crest imprinted on the wall. He frowned, but didn't comment.

He was still supporting Sasuke's weight as they walked. They stopped at the back of the large room, to lean on the wall. They sat and Naruto let go of his arm. Instead he took out a bottle of water from his backpack and handed it to Sasuke.

The raven drank it without a word. Naruto decided to speak first. He didn't really know what to say, but the silence was just getting too heavy.

"So…" he hesitated, "should we fight or…?"

Sasuke glanced away. He folded a leg under him and let out a shaky sigh. When he turned back to look at Naruto, he looked somehow… shy. The blond's eyes widened, he hadn't expected this.

"Naruto… I don't want to fight you."

He had to repress a silly grin. But he did make a little smile. "Can you say that again? It just… felt kinda good to hear, you know?"

"…Idiot."

"Yeah, yeah, sorry for being an idiot and all but… I didn't exactly know what to expect when I decided to go after you. So it's nice to know you don't want to kill me."

Sasuke glanced away again, and shook his head slightly. "It wasn't… I didn't _want_ to kill you. I wanted… revenge."

"Yeah I know that," Naruto said on a serious tone. "But what do you want now?"

"I don't know," he whispered. "I'm not gonna destroy your village, but, I'm not going back with you either."

"Why not?" Naruto couldn't help but ask sadly, even though he already knew the answer.

"Do you seriously think I'd last one single day in jail?"

"Maybe you'll get out sooner than you think!" Naruto argued. "Your friends – Suigetsu, Karin, Jugo – they're out now."

Sasuke glanced at him, his eyes dark and sad.

"And even then? What do I do? Wander around happily in Konoha? Like nothing happened?"

Naruto sighed. "I guess… you have a point."

"I'll just hide… for now, anyway, 'til I figure it out…"

"Where?" He asked, concerned.

"I don't know."

Naruto leaned his head back against the wall, sighing heavily.

"What is it?" Sasuke glanced at him sideways.

"Nothing I… was kinda hoping you'd tell me, so that at least I know where to find you if…"

"If?" The raven encouraged him.

"I don't know, if I want to see you…" Naruto finished in a little voice.

Sasuke's expression softened, but then he glanced away. "It's better if you don't know. That way, if they interrogate you back at the Leaf, you don't have to lie."

"What makes you think I would've lied?"

Sasuke smirked. "You knew I was here, yet you didn't tell them and came alone."

"Right," Naruto chuckled.

There was a silence, in which only the sound of the pouring rain outside could be heard.

"I guess," the blond eventually said, "I don't think you deserve to go to jail."

"Of course I do," Sasuke immediately replied, still glancing away at anything but Naruto's eyes, "And you know it. Saying that I of all people don't deserve to go to jail would make you selfish. I mean, tons of people are behind bars for much less than all I did so…"

"Then I guess I'm selfish."

This time Sasuke turned his head and their eyes met. The raven's expression was unreadable. But the moment was so intense that Naruto felt like he could lose himself in those onyx eyes. Their faces were close; Naruto could see the details of his perfect lips, his delicate nose, his pale skin, his long black eyelashes…

There it was again, the same feeling, the same warmth in his gut he had experienced at the bath. He was attracted to Sasuke, even if he was fully aware that he wasn't a girl.

Suddenly Sasuke shifted, and went to simply lie down on the cold ground, folding his arm under his head.

"I'm gonna stay here for the rest of the night… You?" He asked in a careful voice, as if he hoped Naruto would stay but didn't want to admit it.

"Yeah," the blond simply said.

He unzipped his backpack and took out his sleeping bag. He laid it down a couple feet away from Sasuke, and crawled inside it for warmth. He took pity of Sasuke, who was shivering in his light clothes. So he took off his jacket and threw it at him. The raven caught it, sat up to put it on and then lay down again, curled up on his side and facing Naruto.

"Thank you." He said.

"No problem." Naruto smiled. "You know, I really wish I could take a picture of you wearing that."

Sasuke chuckled and closed his eyes. "Shut up, idiot."

Naruto didn't reply. He kept his eyes open, unable to sleep. He knew Sasuke wasn't sleeping yet, either. He still looked like he was cold. He was pulling the orange jacket tighter around his thin body, and almost burying his face into it, as if he wanted to breathe in its scent – Naruto's scent. Somehow just the simple fact that Sasuke was doing this warmed Naruto's heart.

After a few minutes Sasuke opened his eyes. He frowned as he looked back at Naruto.

"Have you been staring at me this whole time?"

"No," he lied.

"Cause that would be kinda creepy."

"I just can't sleep, okay?" Naruto exclaimed defensively.

Sasuke made a little sad smile. "Yeah me neither. It feels weird to be here…"

Naruto stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.

"You have no idea," Sasuke said slowly, "how good of an actor Itachi was. Right here, at this very place, he made me believe he wanted to steal my eyes, and then leave me to die. And I…" he chuckled, but it came out more like a sob, and a single tear rolled down his eye. "…I fucking believed him," he finished in a whisper.

There was a silence, and then Sasuke swallowed hard, took a few deep breaths and calmed himself a little.

"Not once I thought," he continued in a low voice, eyes still locked with Naruto's, "that the Itachi I knew, and loved, would never have done all that of his own free will, not once I thought that there must be some greater force involved…"

He wiped his tears in frustration. Naruto stayed silent, he knew Sasuke just needed someone to listen.

"And the most fucked up thing is," he whispered, "he's still trying to protect me, even after his death. He knew that there was a possibility Madara would find me, and that I would go crazy with frustration and anger. He even gave you some of his chakra," he shook his head in disbelief, a sad smile lingering on his lips, "and showed me this genjutsu… You know why I changed my mind about defeating you, and then Konoha?"

Naruto parted his lips, but no sound came out. So he just shook his head, holding his breath.

"Because in the genjutsu, I end up killing you," Sasuke whispered, frowning, "but it's like the reversed roles don't matter anymore. In the end I'm just me, and you're you, and we're fighting… And you know what your last words were?"

"….What?" Naruto whispered.

"In the end, you're the hero who killed me."

Naruto frowned. "That's… what you once told me. You can either be killed by me," he quoted, "or become the hero who killed me."

"Yes," Sasuke nodded slightly, "and it's also what Itachi wanted me to be. The hero who killed him. Naruto… I think, without even being really conscious of it, I wanted to die by your hand, just like Itachi wanted to die by mine…" he finished in a strangled whisper.

Naruto sighed shakily, trying to contain his repressed emotions, but it wasn't easy. He wanted to be strong for Sasuke, though. He got out of his sleeping bag and went to sit beside him, his legs folded under him. Carefully he reached with his hand to brush the raven bangs away from his face, and then he wiped his tears softly with his thumb. Sasuke looked up at him with big dark eyes, searching his own blue orbs for answers. Answers to what, Naruto wasn't really sure, but he spoke anyway.

"I guess, if we finally understand each other, there's no point in fighting anymore," he whispered. "Don't you think, Sasuke?"

Slowly, the raven sat up and leaned closer. Naruto held his breath as their faces got dangerously close. Sasuke closed his eyes, and Naruto could tell he was also holding his breath. Their lips touched, but so slightly that Naruto wasn't even sure if he had imagined it. But then Sasuke moved a little bit closer and pressed his lips against Naruto's. The latter closed his eyes, and kissed back. He had no idea what he was doing, but it felt so damn good that he didn't want it to stop. He just moved his lips against Sasuke's, caressing, nibbling, licking…

Sasuke pulled away. Naruto's eyes snapped open and met shocked onyx ones.

"Sorry," the blond breathed, thinking that maybe he had done something wrong with his tongue.

"N-No you just surprised me," Sasuke stuttered, a light shade of pink covering his cheeks.

At that moment, Naruto decided that embarrassed Sasuke was the cutest thing in the whole world.

Naruto smirked, leaned closer and kissed him again. He placed his left arm around Sasuke's waist, flushing their bodies together. His right hand took place firmly in Sasuke's soft raven hair. This time, when he tried to enter Sasuke's mouth with his tongue, the latter didn't pull away. Instead he parted his lips, and welcomed him with his own tongue. It was a little clumsy at first, but it was their first kiss after all. Well, Naruto supposed…

When they pulled away, panting a little, Naruto stared at Sasuke questioningly.

"What?" he asked.

"Did you ever…" Naruto hesitated, "do this… before?"

An amused glint flashed in Sasuke's eyes. "Well, when I was twelve, there was this certain idiot…"

"That doesn't count!" Naruto exclaimed, annoyed. "I mean, with someone else?"

"No," Sasuke said simply.

"Ever?"

"Well," Sasuke's expression became thoughtful, "there was this one time, with Orochimaru…"

Naruto's blue eyes widened in pure horror and he moved back. Sasuke burst out laughing and moved closer.

"I'm just fucking with you, Naruto!"

"…I think I'm scarred for life now. I really didn't want to have that mental image."

"Oh, sorry I guess." Sasuke said but a little amused smile lingered on his lips.

Pale hands timidly reached to take Naruto's hands. He kissed him again, and when he pulled away it was his turn to glance at Naruto questioningly.

"What about you? Did you ever…?"

"Oh, no," Naruto shook his head.

"Not even that Hinata girl?"

"You knew she liked me?" Naruto frowned.

"Yeah everyone knew she wasn't exactly subtle about it." Sasuke replied.

"Oh," Naruto blushed and glanced away. "I didn't know until she told me, but no, not even her. Just you…"

In a silent agreement they lay on Naruto's sleeping bag in each other's arms. It felt a little bit weird for Naruto to be like this, his arm firmly around Sasuke's waist, their bodies touching. But also, it felt good, it felt… so right.

"…Naruto?" Sasuke suddenly whispered.

"Yeah?"

"…I'm sorry."

Naruto frowned and pulled him even closer. He kissed his soft hair lightly.

"It's okay…"

xxx

In the morning, when Naruto woke up, he was alone. He sat and hugged his knees, letting a few tears roll down his cheeks. He felt extremely lonely. And it was strange, really, because he was used to being without Sasuke. But it seemed as if each time he left him, it was even worst than the last.

But later, when he put his orange jacket back on, he frowned when he found a little note written on a crippled paper in the inside pocket.

_I'll never be far. You're all I have left._

Naruto closed his eyes, and the tears kept falling, but he was smiling.


	10. Chasing Naruto

Chapter 9 – Chasing Naruto

He was standing in the depths of the forest, listening intently. He was very quiet, and hiding his chakra at the best of his abilities. There was no sensory type ninja in this squad, so they couldn't detect him.

They were in the forest surrounding a village in the Fire country. Yamato, Sai, and Suigetsu. It was a strange squad, but the mission was very basic; escorting a young woman back to her village. Sasuke didn't know the details, and he didn't care.

From what Yamato and Sai had been discussing while changing their guarding shifts, Sakura had stayed back at the Leaf for her duties at the hospital, and Kakashi was gone on a secret mission on his own.

But Sasuke wanted to know what was keeping Naruto back. He had been wandering around the Leaf village for weeks, but he hadn't seen Naruto leave once. He had wanted to sneak in a couple of times, but they had reinforced security greatly, and he didn't want to risk getting caught. There was still a price on his head, of course.

When it was Suigetsu's turn to keep guard, Sasuke approached him. He hadn't been too sure about Sai's reaction, but he was certain Suigetsu wouldn't make a big deal out of it.

Thankfully, he was right.

"Oh it's you!" Suigetsu exclaimed, but in a low voice as to not wake the others. "You scared me, for a moment there I thought I might actually have to do something on this mission."

Sasuke let out a light chuckle. "So you're doing easy missions for now?"

He went to sit in front of Suigetsu. The latter looked at him with amused eyes.

"Yeah, gotta prove my loyalty and all." He glanced behind him at the sleeping girl. "I suspect she paid a good price, and that greedy Hokage woman accepted to send good ninja like us just to escort her. Anyways…" He paused, took a gulp from his bottle of water, and looked back at Sasuke. "What about you? Finally got your memories back?"

"Hn…" He glanced away.

"Must have been hard." Suigetsu said simply, and Sasuke was glad that he didn't elaborate on the subject. When the silence dragged on, Suigetsu spoke again. "Naruto's making an idiot of himself in Konoha."

Sasuke looked up at his silver-haired friend. "Why do you say that?"

He shrugged. "He's telling everyone that you changed, and that you don't want to destroy Konoha anymore."

"Well that's kinda the truth… Why would that make him an idiot?"

"Cause no one believes him." Suigetsu chuckled, and pointed at Sai's sleeping form with his thumb. "Except this guy. But I suspect that's just because he likes Naruto."

"…You might be right." Sasuke said, remembering the bath episode.

"I also believe it's true," Suigetsu continued, "I mean you do seem different."

He raised a delicate eyebrow at his friend. "Different?"

"I don't know," he scratched his silver hair thoughtfully, "Maybe it's cause you're not trying to kill anyone. And you sure talk more."

"Yeah well that's because you're pretty much the only one I can talk to."

"Aww!"

"There's a price on my head I mean, I don't know how any of the others will react. Of course there's Naruto, but I haven't seen him out of the village in a while so…" He trailed off in what he hoped was a subtle attempt at getting more news about Naruto.

It had probably been too subtle though, because Suigetsu just smiled teasingly.

"Price, huh?" He grabbed the hilt of his huge sword. "Maybe I could capture you!"

Sasuke blinked and his eyes turned red and black.

"Wow!" Suigetsu crawled away from him. "I was kidding!"

"I know," Sasuke said in a low voice.

"Then… why are you going all sharingan on me…?"

"Genjutsu, if the others wake up they won't see me." He explained.

"You did that on purpose!" Suigetsu said accusingly, "To scare me!"

Sasuke smirked. "Maybe."

"You evil bastard."

There was a silence, and then Suigetsu randomly began rambling on how much he hated Karin.

"… She steals my things all the time! She's horrible, man! But there's nothing I can do about it. They stuck us three together cause apparently they're out of free apartments, and oh…" He sighed in despair, "I'm so sick of her! The other day she put some sticky shit in my hair while I was sleeping, and it took me forever to take it off! I mean, who does that?"

"Well… have you tried talking to her?" Sasuke offered, not knowing what else to say.

"No. But I think she's sexually frustrated and needs to get laid. She likes Sai now. I suspect that's because he's the guy that looks most like you in the village."

"He doesn't look like me."

"I dunno man… girls sometimes…"

"…"

"Those people are all so fucked up! They're all friends, but like, it's so weird…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke asked.

"Let me explain," Suigetsu chuckled. "Karin, just like another girl named Ino – I thought she seemed cool at first, and she's hot, but she's completely retarded – they like Sai, but would prefer you. Now Sai, just like freaking everybody and their mother, likes Naruto…"

"What do you mean everybody and their mother?" Sasuke asked.

"Oh, you want a list? There's this other girl that I thought was cute, Hinata, but apparently she's been in love with the guy even before she learned to speak or walk. Then there's this pink-haired doctor girl. She's always with him. I think she loves both you and him… probably has fantasies of a threesome every night…"

"…"

"Anyways," Suigetsu laughed, "Sai of course. And then there's the Kazekage! I saw them together the other day, he was visiting Konoha. And he was like, standing a little too close if you know what I mean!"

"Gaara, really?"

"Yeah!" Suigetsu exclaimed. "He was telling him how great a Hokage he would become, and that they would be able to share Kage tips and anecdotes, and see each other more often…"

"How do you even know all this?" Sasuke raised a brow.

"I get bored man I like to spy on people. You know, hiding in puddles and stuff."

"You're weird."

"Sue me."

"So what, you're gonna tell me there are even more people who like Naruto?"

"Yeah! That guy with pale eyes, long black hair, Hinata's brother, or cousin…"

"Neji Hyuga?" Sasuke exclaimed in disbelief.

"That's the one. I swear, they're all gay! It should be called the Hidden Gay village."

"Why do you say Neji likes Naruto?"

"Well I was training with Jugo, and next to us Naruto and Neji were training, and Neji was taking every opportunity to pin Naruto down, to touch him, it wasn't really subtle… Why do you wanna know all that?" He suddenly asked.

"…"

"Maybe I should add you to the list!"

"Shut up."

"So you _do_ like him too!"

"You're the one who started talking about those things!"

"Me thinks you've got a crush on fox-boy."

"Fox-boy?"

"Karin nicknamed him that."

"…Whatever. Tell anyone and you're dead."

"Your secret's safe with me." Suigetsu said with a little smile, but Sasuke knew he was sincere.

"Actually… I wanted to know why you're replacing him in the team."

"He's doing the juunin exams right now." Suigetsu answered.

"Juunin, huh? I didn't even know he was a chuunin."

"Oh that's because the Hokage gave him a special permission to skip the chuunin exams and go straight to juunin." He explained.

"I guess that makes sense, he's really powerful." Sasuke said.

"Hey not that I don't enjoy your company, but I'm really tired, I think I'm gonna wake Yamato soon."

"That's fine." Sasuke shrugged.

An amused smirk curled around Suigetsu's lips. "You want me to tell Naruto a message for you? To give him a love note, or a flower, perhaps?"

"Oh shut it."

"Hey I'm just trying to help you out!" Suigetsu exclaimed.

Sasuke stayed completely silent and still. Yamato had woken up.

"Who the hell are you talking to?" He asked Suigetsu.

The latter jumped and turned around. Then he glanced back at Sasuke, and seemed to remember that he had cast a genjutsu.

"My imaginary friend!" He told Yamato. "He's awesome. Keeps me company when I'm lonely."

"…Right." Yamato rolled his eyes. "Don't you think you're a bit old to have imaginary friends?"

"Hey no judgment man! I can have an imaginary friend if I fucking want to!"

While Suigetsu argued with Yamato, Sasuke graciously jumped in a tree, landing on a high branch without a sound. It would be easier to escape without being heard from there.

"Bye imaginary friend!" Suigetsu exclaimed. At least he wasn't dumb enough to look up in Sasuke's direction.

"Will you be quiet now?" Yamato asked Suigetsu.

"Yes, boss."

Sasuke couldn't help but smile at his silver-haired friend's antics. Then he ran away, wandering aimlessly as he had done for the past few weeks.

So not only Sai, Sakura and Hinata, but also Gaara and Neji, huh? Damn, such competition…

xxx

Naruto, Sai, Neji, Tenten and Lee were celebrating at a little local bar because Naruto had successfully passed the examinations to become a juunin.

Sai and Neji had both paid him several drinks, and Naruto was starting to get a little bit drunk. Sakura had come with them and stayed a bit, but then she had left, disapproving of their under aged drinking. As for their other friends, they were all gone on missions. Sai had just come back from a boring escorting mission – so he had said himself – and had been able to join this little celebration.

They suddenly put a slow, romantic song in the bar, and a few couples made their way to the little dance floor.

"Neji, do you want to dance?" Tenten asked, hopeful.

"No, I'm gonna stay here with Naruto." The brunet said. He put his hand on the blond's shoulder, and squeezed gently. "I'm very proud of you, Naruto. You have become such a great ninja. Have I ever told you that you shattered my beliefs, and proved to the world that we create our own destiny?"

"Uh yeah a couple times…" Naruto laughed. He shifted a little on the bench to get further from Neji.

"I can dance with you if you want Tenten!" Lee exclaimed enthusiastically.

"No it's fine…" Tenten put her elbow on the table and rested her head in her hand.

Meanwhile Neji's hand had fallen from Naruto's shoulder at least, but only to be replaced by Sai's arm.

"Ah, Sai, what're you doin'?" Naruto slurred, feeling trapped in between the two clingy guys.

"Being friendly," Sai smiled.

"Then stop being friendly!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You heard him Sai," Neji said harshly. Sai removed his arm from around Naruto's shoulders.

After that Sai and Neji entered a glaring contest, with a confused Naruto in the middle.

What the hell was up with these guys?

Neji eventually stopped staring at Sai to glance at Naruto instead. "Would you like another drink?"

"Uh no I'm good. It's my first time drinking so…"

Naruto frowned as Neji got up to order him another drink.

He turned to look at the others. "Did he hear what I said?"

"Maybe Neji is becoming deaf." Lee said.

"More like becoming gay," Tenten muttered on a depressed tone.

"What was that Tenten?" Lee asked.

"Nothing. I think I'll just go home now."

"Yeah me too!" Lee exclaimed. "Congratulations again, Naruto!"

"Yeah thanks," he smiled, watching as the two walked away. "Maybe I should go home too…"

"After this last drink." Neji said, putting said drink in front of him.

Naruto shrugged, thinking that one more drink couldn't hurt. So he drank it all at once, made a face, then felt heat rising to his face as he glanced at the two guys sitting a little bit too close.

"Okay guys stop acting weird. Why do you want to get me drunk anyway?"

"I read in a book," Sai said, "that alcohol makes people talk about their feelings."

"My… my feelings, what the hell?" Naruto exclaimed. "Guys seriously I want to go home."

They didn't move. This was getting creepy.

"Guys I think I'm gonna be sick."

This time they moved away, letting him get up. It wasn't even a lie. That last drink hadn't been such a good idea. He lost his balance a little, so Neji and Sai each took one of his arms and helped him walk.

xxx

Sasuke had finally been able to sneak in Konoha. Unfortunately he had been too late for the juunin exams. But when he located Naruto's chakra, he was glad because he knew right away that Naruto had succeeded; he was with some friends celebrating at a bar.

He had taken the appearance of a random anbu guard he had seen while sneaking in. But it was just a precaution; no one had seen him. He was keeping a low profile, just staying near the bar and waiting for Naruto to come out. He wanted to at least see him.

But when Naruto did come out, Sasuke frowned. Neji and Sai were helping him walk, and it looked like the idiot was drunk. But, Sasuke thought, maybe it wasn't entirely his fault if he was drunk. Damn these guys. Sasuke felt possessive now. Improvising, he transformed into Sakura. Time to see if he had some acting skills. He was supposed to be good at everything, wasn't he?

He walked firmly towards them, and stepped in front of the three guys.

"What the hell is going on here?"

"S-Sakura-san," Neji said hesitantly, "I thought you left earlier…"

"I did," he improvised, "but I decided to come back because I was worried. Naruto just how much did you drink? You're not even 20!"

"That's why we were walking him home…" Sai started.

"I can walk on my own!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, moving away from the two others. But he fell on his knees and hands. "Shit… or maybe not."

Before Neji and Sai could move, Sasuke – still in the form of Sakura – grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled him up.

"I'm gonna bring him to the hospital!"

"But, Sakura…" Neji started.

"You guys leave now." He clenched his fists and glared at them.

They looked scared, and then nodded and walked away. Sasuke smirked. Kids stuff.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto said sheepishly, "you're not gonna hit me are you?"

He quickly led Naruto to the empty alley behind the bar. Scanning the surroundings, he detected no one nearby, except for some sleeping villagers in their houses.

"What the hell?" Naruto mumbled, focusing his efforts to stand straight.

Sasuke transformed back to himself.

"Hi," he said, amused, his voice also back to normal.

"Sakura-chan! Why did you transform into Sasuke!"

Sasuke laughed. "It's me you idiot."

"I don't believe you." Naruto went to lean on the brick wall and frowned.

He was really cute even if he was evidently drunk. His mid-length blond hair was all messy, and it was falling in his eyes since he wasn't wearing his headband. He was wearing his orange pants, but with a simple black t-shirt.

"Sasuke would never smile like that." He said. "It's not cool what you're doing, making fun of me like that. You know I miss him."

"You do?"

Okay so maybe he was taking advantage of the situation. He stepped a little closer, so that there was only a couple feet separating him from the blond.

"Yeah," Naruto whined, glancing down at his feet, "so much…"

"Just how drunk are you?" He chuckled, stepping even closer.

"It's my first time drinking, it's not my fault, and Neji and Sai kept encouraging me to drink more…"

He leaned even closer, and when Naruto finally looked up to meet his eyes, he seemed to realize his mistake. Blue eyes widened and he almost lost his already vulnerable balance in shock, but Sasuke caught him by the waist and arm and held him up, pulling him closer in the process.

"Fuck, it's really you."

"It's really me."

"Fuck," he repeated, and then hugged him.

Sasuke was surprised at first, but eventually he slid his arm on Naruto's back to hold him tight. He breathed in the sweet scent of his hair, and let himself enjoy this moment.

"I missed you too." Sasuke whispered in his ear.

It wasn't like him to get emotional, but Naruto just had this effect on him.

When he pulled away, the blond frowned slightly. "Did anyone see you?"

"No." He shook his head.

"But… it's dangerous for you to be here."

"It's worth the risk."

Naruto smiled, looked at his lips, then at his eyes. "Can I kiss you?"

He chuckled. "Why are you asking for permission?"

Naruto closed his eyes as their lips touched. Sasuke did the same, and enjoyed the kiss very much even if Naruto's taste was pretty much hidden by alcohol. Naruto made little moans through the kiss, and suddenly he got more passionate. When Naruto started grinding against him, Sasuke pulled away, frowning, and holding Naruto's shoulders.

"Slow down Naruto, you're drunk."

"Sorry," he whispered. "I think drinking so much made me hornier…" he blushed.

Sasuke couldn't help but make a little laugh. Drunken Naruto was so cute and funny.

"It does that to everyone dobe."

"Oh…"

"So, you're a juunin now huh? That's bad ass."

"I know right?" Naruto smiled proudly.

They were still holding each other, but neither pulled away. It wasn't awkward, it felt right, actually. To Sasuke, anyway, but he could tell Naruto felt the same.

"Hey you know what? I think there're people who like me… like… they ask me on dates and stuff. I'm popular now…"

"So I've heard," Sasuke said, amused.

"No wait I wasn't finished!" Naruto protested, locking eyes with him. "It's not cool! And you know, I used to be jealous of you, cause you were so popular before. And now, I have fan girls man…" He shook his head in despair. "Some girls from the village they come to me and say I'm their hero and all that…"

"Why does that make you so depressed?"

"Cause I can't like them back! All these people…" he sighed. "I always have to turn them down. Cause there's already someone I like."

"And who would that be?"

"You know." Naruto blushed and buried his face in his chest. "Stop making fun of me…"

Sasuke chuckled and kissed his hair. But he was barely standing, and it was probably better if he went to sleep.

"Let's get you home."

Naruto nodded, his eyes half-closed. Sasuke put his arm around his shoulders and they started walking.

"I should probably transform into someone else," he said thoughtfully.

"Not Sakura that's just weird…" Naruto muttered.

"Who then?"

"There's no one in the streets, just stay yourself…"

Sasuke didn't reply. They continued walking slowly, and he helped Naruto every time he tripped. He kept his guard up, so that he would sense any shinobi approaching before it was too late. But none of them came near enough to see him, and they reached Naruto's apartment without trouble.

Naruto immediately went to collapse on his bed. Sasuke followed him just to make sure he was okay. Standing next to the bed, he smiled fondly. Naruto would be fine, he just needed to sleep this off. He was about to walk away, when Naruto grabbed his arm and yanked him forward with impressive strength considering his drunken and almost passed out state.

"You're not going anywhere." He muttered, opening his blue eyes slightly.

"Okay…" Sasuke chuckled.

Funny thing was, a bunch of ninja were looking for him out there, since he was one of the most famous rogue ninja and he had escaped Konoha for the second time. But they would never think to look for him right in the middle of the village.

"I guess I can stay the night," he whispered, wrapping his arm around Naruto.

"You better be here when I wake up this time," the blond muttered without opening his eyes.

"I will."


	11. Passionate night

Chapter 10 – Passionate night

Sasuke woke up to the most beautiful sight. Naruto sleeping in his arms; blond hair all messy, eyes closed and long blond eyelashes fluttering slightly, his full lips forming the faintest of smiles, yet it was still there. He looked like an angel.

But then he started frowning, and muttering incoherent things. He also started moving, so much that Sasuke actually had to pull away.

"Naruto…?"

"Get off me! Get off me!" He started screaming.

"Naruto… just wake up!" Sasuke exclaimed, not knowing what else to say.

It worked at least. Blue eyes snapped open as he sat up, panting.

"Shit…"

"…Nightmare?" Sasuke asked, sitting up as well.

"Yeah man it was so weird… I was eating my ramen quietly, and then fan girls started pursuing me, and then I was trying to escape from them but Shino blocked my way, and then he attacked me with his bugs… Ugh." Naruto shuddered.

Sasuke didn't reply, but he nodded, agreeing that it was indeed kinda gross.

Then Naruto seemed to forget all about his weird dream, and turned to look at him, smiling widely and blue eyes shining in happiness.

"Sasuke! You're here!"

He couldn't help but laugh. Drunk or sober, Naruto was the cutest, and funniest thing.

"I'm glad!" Naruto exclaimed, and then hugged him tightly. "And it's good to see you smiling and laughing, by the way."

"When I was, you know…" Sasuke said, pulling away to look at him, "with the fucked up memories, every time I laughed you guys looked at me so weird."

"We couldn't help it." Naruto shrugged, chuckling.

"Yeah I understand, but back then I was like, what the hell? Did I do something wrong? You know… Ah yeah it was weird I guess."

"But you do remember everything, then?" Naruto's expression became more serious. "Even when we were talking…?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said in an equally serious tone, "I still really appreciate that you told me the truth. I guess I can understand Sakura's feelings, wanting to spare me and all but… It was less of a blow when I remembered for real. Thanks to you."

"And you were still pretty upset…" Naruto said. "I can't imagine what it would have been if no one had told you…" He hesitated. "Maybe you would've tried to destroy the village."

Sasuke glanced away, a little uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said sincerely, "I shouldn't have said that."

He reached his hand and caressed Sasuke's pale arm, as if to comfort him.

"It's okay." Sasuke finally said. "I guess… it's thanks to both Itachi and you that I'm no longer… insane." He didn't know how else to express it.

"Yay, teamwork," Naruto said.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him.

"Ah, sorry, trying to lighten the mood…" He said sheepishly. "I'm really sorry, Sasuke, I just… sometimes I get nervous and I talk too much."

"Then stop talking." He whispered and pulled Naruto into a soft kiss.

When they pulled away the blond was silent, a dazed expression on his face.

It didn't last long.

"Ah! What time is it!" He exclaimed, getting up to his feet quickly. "I have to go meet Granny!"

Sasuke got up as well. "I guess I'll go then."

"You'll be fine? How did you sneak in last night anyway?"

He shrugged. "I waited for the sensory type to go on his break. Then genjutsu so that the others don't see me."

"I'll have to reinforce the security when I become Hokage," Naruto muttered.

"Don't worry it's not that bad. It took me a while to figure out where and when exactly I was safe to go without being noticed."

"All right, well, stay out of trouble." Naruto told him.

"I'll try," Sasuke made a little amused smile. "And you, stay away from Neji and Sai."

"I'll try," Naruto replied teasingly.

Sasuke smiled, and then transformed into the same Anbu member as last night. He waited for the street below Naruto's window to be clear, and then ran away unnoticed.

xxx

"We received an urgent message from Suna," Tsunade started. "A criminal organization attempted a coup d'état there, but the Kazekage is fine, don't worry Naruto," she added before the blond could ask. "Except, they believe a part of the group is still on the loose, and their next target is Konoha. It will be your mission to find and arrest them."

Naruto nodded as he glanced at his teammates for this mission; Kiba and Karin. They didn't know each other, and had never worked together before, but their combined tracking skills would help find the enemies.

"They are probably on their way here from Suna," Tsunade continued. "So you can start searching for them by this path. Naruto, as a juunin, you are the team leader. You can go."

"Understood!" Naruto exclaimed.

As the three of them exited her office, Naruto told them to meet at the South-West entrance of the village. They nodded and parted, in order to go gather their things before leaving. Naruto did the same. He had traded his orange clothes for the regular green outfit Anbu members and juunins wore. He had grown taller recently, and his hair was longer as well. When he looked at himself in the mirror, he felt proud because he thought he looked a lot like his father. Some villagers and fellow ninja also made this observation.

After getting ready he met with Karin and Kiba as planned.

"All right," he said, feeling a little nervous because this was his first time being an official team leader, "Kiba you'll lead the way with Akamaru, and Karin you'll be right after him. If you guys pick up any scent, or any trace of chakra coming from a group of people, we'll stop right away. I'll be closing our formation."

"Cool, let's do this!" Kiba smiled.

"Before we go… I wanted to ask you something Naruto." Karin said.

"Yes?"

"Well, do you know where Sasuke is?" She asked.

His blue eyes widened slightly. He risked a glance at Kiba, and then looked back at Karin. He knew she was Sasuke's friend, and wouldn't betray him, but he couldn't talk about that in front of Kiba. Actually, it was Kiba himself who saved him from answering.

"Of course he doesn't know! If he did, he would've arrested him again already!"

"Anyway," Naruto said, "we can talk later, maybe, Karin. Now we need to get going."

"I understand," she said.

They started running in the direction of Suna, according to the formation decided by Naruto. They left the road to run through the woods instead, thinking that the enemies wouldn't be dumb enough to use the regular path.

xxx

After a few hours of uneventful running, Naruto asked his teammates to stop.

"We'll scatter and search the area thoroughly. If we continue and get to the Wind country without even finding them, maybe we'll come back too late to prevent their attack to the Leaf."

"You're right," Kiba nodded, "So we meet back here then…?"

"Yes. Let's say… in thirty minutes." Naruto said.

"Perfect," Karin agreed.

Each went in a different direction. Naruto went to the Northern area of the forest, on the other side of the road. He turned into Sage mode to be able to detect possible chakras more easily.

But as he searched the area, he came across an all too familiar chakra, actually. He stopped and looked around him, narrowing his eyes. He couldn't be far…

Suddenly Sasuke jumped off a high branch in a tree and landed right in front of him, making him jump and step back.

"Sasuke! What the hell? Was that really necessary?"

"No." The raven smirked. "But this is."

He leaned closer and kissed his lips. Naruto frowned and pulled away.

"What is wrong with you? I'm on a mission."

"I can see that. But I couldn't resist." Sasuke stepped back and checked him out. "You look hot in that uniform. And your sage mode is sexy."

Naruto rolled his eyes, and then he dropped said sage mode, so his eyes returned to their normal blue shade.

Sasuke smirked. "But I like your blue eyes better of course."

He leaned closer again, but Naruto stepped back, feeling heat rising to his cheeks.

"Sasuke stop it already… I'm on an important mission."

"I know. But hum…" Sasuke glanced behind him, and then back at Naruto. "I need to tell you, there were these losers talking about killing the Hokage to take over Konoha… They were saying that Danzo would've been a better Hokage so… I kinda… got a little bit angry…" He ran his fingers through his raven locks, glancing down.

"Were they coming from Suna?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah… Was your mission to catch them?"

"Yes."

"I thought that was a possibility," Sasuke chuckled, "well I did the work for ya then."

"Sasuke it's not funny." Naruto frowned. "What did you do?"

"Don't worry I didn't kill them." Sasuke quickly said.

"Well, what did you do then?" Naruto asked again.

"…Genjutsu."

"So predictable," Naruto teased him.

"So what? Can I have a kiss now?" Sasuke teased back.

"No," Naruto replied on a half-teasing tone. "It was my first mission as a juunin, and you stole it from me. Just lead me to them."

"Hn, fine."

As Sasuke had promised, it turned out none of those criminals were dead. They were just passed out. Naruto didn't ask to know what kind of fucked up, cruel genjutsu Sasuke had used.

But the raven told him anyway.

"I made them live their worst fears."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "Man that's horrible!"

Sasuke turned to look at him, and shrugged casually. "I know."

The blond shook his head in disbelief. But he figured, these guys were criminals, and his mission was to bring them back alive to put them in jail, or, if needed, to kill them. So all in all, what Sasuke had done wasn't that bad.

"So… what do we do now?" Naruto asked. "I don't think it's a good idea for Kiba to see you here." He added thoughtfully.

"Easy," Sasuke shrugged again, "I'll continue hiding. You take the credit for catching these guys."

"But…" Naruto frowned. It just didn't seem right.

"I did it for my own selfish reasons anyway." Sasuke said. "I was bored, and they pissed me off with their talking about how great of a man Danzo was."

Naruto could understand how that was a touchy subject for Sasuke. Danzo had been one of the people responsible for Itachi's fate, after all.

"Well, your own selfish reasons served the village this time I guess." Naruto finally said. "You can hide, like you said. But I'll tell the truth to a few people at least. Karin, Suigetsu, maybe Sakura…"

"Why?" Sasuke frowned slightly as he locked eyes with him. "What's the point?"

"I wanna get some people on my side for when I try to get you completely freed." Naruto made a little smile.

"Yeah that's never gonna happen."

"Is that a challenge?" The blond teased.

But Sasuke glanced away, his eyes darkening. "I'm serious, Naruto, don't waste your time."

Naruto's heart squeezed painfully in his chest at Sasuke's sad tone of voice. He was trying to hide his emotions, as always, but Naruto could see right through it.

"Anyway," he said, "I have to go meet the others. Thank you for your help. This conversation isn't over though."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and then he started walking away.

"Wait!" Naruto grabbed his arm. "One more thing."

He pulled him close and kissed him passionately. Sasuke was kissing back just as intensely, wrapping his arms around Naruto.

When they pulled away, the blond smirked. "Now you can go."

Sasuke let out a light chuckle. "Take care dobe." He said before walking away.

Naruto didn't stop him this time. But he watched him go with bitterness in his heart. He really hoped the time would come when Sasuke and him could go together on missions, work together, and simply be together. Without Naruto being called a hero, and Sasuke a criminal. Because to Naruto, these things weren't that important.

He sighed as he started running in the opposite direction. Criminal. What did that word mean anyway? In Naruto's opinion, someone who was truly evil, and regretted nothing, didn't deserve a second chance. But someone who had been influenced again and again, just like Sasuke, definitely deserved one more chance.

When he met up with his teammates, he told them that he had defeated the enemies himself by sneaking in their group with clones, and knocking them out. At least it would explain the fact that they were passed out. He felt bad for lying to them, but he didn't have a choice. If Kiba were to learn that Sasuke was wandering around near the border of Konoha, he would most likely try to catch him, no matter what Naruto's orders would be.

So they quickly followed Naruto there. There were five ninja; they were slowly waking up, but were still clearly shaken. Karin proceeded to tie their hands with a special rope that sucked out their chakra. One of them tried to attack her, but Kiba stopped him.

"If you don't cooperate," the brunet said roughly, "we'll show no mercy. I don't like organizations like yours, who give themselves lame excuses to attack the Kages. Do you ever ask yourselves, what would you do so much better than them anyway?"

"Well, we wouldn't hesitate to kill the dangerous Jinchuriki …" Another one started.

Kiba kicked him in the face before he could pronounce one more word. "It was a rhetorical question."

Akamaru barked loudly in approval.

xxx

The walk back to the village was long, but uneventful. They were using the road this time. This so-called organization was indeed formed by losers, as Sasuke had told Naruto before. The blond juunin didn't know if they really were weak or not, but they complied to being led to Konoha with their hands tied without even fighting. Well except when one tried to kick Akamaru, but Kiba did Gatsuga on his sorry ass and the prisoner stayed very silent – and seemingly traumatized – after that little episode. Naruto did hear a few of them mutter things like, "What the hell happened before? Some kind of genjutsu? It totally freaked me out..." But neither Karin or Kiba seemed to notice.

When they brought them to jail it was already late. They went to briefly report to Tsunade – who looked like she had already started her evening drinking – and then they were dismissed.

Even though it was a reasonable time to go to bed, Naruto didn't feel sleepy at all. He stopped at his apartment to shower. He put on simple green capri pants and a black t-shirt, and not bothering to wait for his hair to dry he returned outside.

Even this late there were still people in the streets. The villagers were all careless and smiling. It was a nice sight for Naruto. He was so glad that the war was over. His dream was still to become the Hokage, and he couldn't help but feel content when he saw the people in such good and carefree mood.

As usual, some girls flirted with him, some people congratulated him for becoming a juunin, or for his most recent mission (news travelled really fast around here…)

He would never get used to this. The most amazing was when kids asked him for his autograph. He just couldn't find words to describe how that felt. As a child, he had wished to be accepted. But this was beyond being accepted. He was being praised by all these people. And it felt incredible.

His feet took him to the South-West entrance of the village again. He wondered if Sasuke was still wandering in that area. Maybe he would pop out of nowhere, and Naruto could laugh and call him a stalker. Naruto smiled inwardly at the thought.

And actually, as he walked deeper in the dark woods, that is exactly what happened.

"Oh my God, you really _are_ stalking me," Naruto mocked.

"Not really," Sasuke teased back, "I just feel like staying around here. I think it's funny that people are searching for me everywhere except around Konoha."

Naruto was about to reply, when he noticed that Sasuke was wearing different clothes. He stepped closer because it was hard to see in the darkness. The short pants seemed black, but when Naruto saw the shirt's colour clearly, he burst out laughing.

Sasuke blushed slightly, clearly embarrassed, and hugged himself as if his skinny pale arms could hide the violet tank top he was wearing.

"I went to see Suigetsu earlier and… those were the only freakin' clothes he had…" Sasuke muttered defensively, glancing away. "He promised to wash my other clothes soon…"

"Well…" Naruto said, still smiling, "Why didn't you come to my place instead?"

"You were still busy with that mission…"

Naruto nodded slightly and then he took Sasuke's arms, uncrossing them. The raven turned his head to look at him, and Naruto caught a whiff of sweet, fruity smell.

"You smell nice," he whispered as he leaned closer.

Sasuke chuckled. "I don't know if I should thank you, or freak out because you like the smell of Suigetsu's stupid beauty products."

"Is that guy gay or..?" Naruto laughed. He honestly had no idea.

"I don't know. Straight, I think. Maybe bi..." Sasuke said.

"Oh. Maybe." He shrugged. His hands were still linked with Sasuke's, and he was squeezing them gently, just enjoying his presence.

"And you?"

"What?" Naruto frowned at the sudden question.

"You're bi, no?"

"I don't know. I thought I was straight but I guess I never really… thought about it that way."

"Well you were such a pervert and liked girls before, that's for sure. And well…" Sasuke continued with an amused smile. "In case you haven't noticed yet, I'm not a girl."

"Stop making fun of my sexual preferences." Naruto replied, equally amused. "I don't care if I like girls or guys, or both or whatever. All I know for sure is… I like you." He blushed slightly at saying those words.

Sasuke smiled. "You do?" He breathed against his lips.

"Just kiss me already…"

Sasuke didn't need to be told twice. He kissed him softly, his tongue asking for entrance, which Naruto granted willingly. They teased each other a little at first, and then the blond pushed Sasuke back against a large tree and deepened the kiss. He pressed his thigh in between Sasuke's legs, making him moan.

He opened lustful dark eyes. "Naruto…" He moaned.

They closed their eyes and kissed again, this time passionately and grinding against each other harshly. When they broke the kiss again they were panting, and locking eyes with the raven Naruto saw that he wanted exactly the same thing as him. They proceeded to take off each other's clothes. When they were left in just their underwear, Naruto stopped his movements, suddenly becoming aware of his surroundings.

"Wait… not here." He said.

"Why not?" Sasuke whispered before kissing his ear.

"Sasuke…" Naruto moaned, pushing him away reluctantly, "What if someone sees us?"

"Makes it more exciting." He teased.

After another passionate kiss, Sasuke pushed him to the ground and climbed on top of him. Naruto was panting, and trembling with desire. He wanted this so bad… But he really was worried of being caught like this…

"Shh… Don't worry," Sasuke whispered in his ear while nibbling at it, "there's no one around, and if someone comes I'll create a genjutsu to make them confused and think it wasn't real or something, all right?"

"That's a rather useful ability." Naruto chuckled. He did feel more relaxed now.

Sasuke reached down to take off his boxers, locking eyes with him at the same time. His long pale fingers brushed against his cock in the process, making Naruto gasp slightly and bite his lower lip. Sasuke smirked.

"Sasuke…" he moaned, "Ah… like what you see?"

"I do," he whispered teasingly as he leaned closer to kiss his lips. He reached down with his hand to stroke him at the same time.

Naruto moaned through the kiss, wrapping his arms tightly around the other's thin but muscular body. His hands were all over his smooth back and soft hair as he bucked his hips into his touch.

"Why…" he breathed when his lips were freed, "am I the only one naked?"

He brought his hands to Sasuke's hips to take off his boxers. Sasuke let him, and they sat up to make it easier. The raven ended up sitting in Naruto's lap, and they kissed again. While deepening the kiss and exploring Naruto's mouth with his tongue, Sasuke wrapped his legs around Naruto's waist. The added friction of their hardened members rubbing against each other sent Naruto into a craze. He moaned and pushed Sasuke to the ground, this time climbing on top.

But Sasuke didn't seem too happy with this, and he quickly flipped them over again.

"What?" Naruto raised a brow at him.

"I guess I like being on top." He smirked. He brought a finger to Naruto's entrance, making him gasp.

"What are you doing?"

"I have no idea what I'm doing," Sasuke admitted, "but it will be less painful for you if I do this first."

"I guess… this kinda hurts though…" He said when Sasuke entered two fingers.

He kissed him to distract him. Naruto was still nervous though. If two fingers hurt, Sasuke's impressive erection would be extremely painful… But he wanted this. Sure he would have loved to top as well, but he could wait his turn…

"Just do it already…" He told Sasuke, and more to convince himself than anything, he added, "I can take it."

Sasuke placed himself in between his legs and he pressed his cock against his entrance. Naruto was scared, but he desired this at the same time. It was a strange and unknown feeling. When Sasuke slid inside him though, he couldn't repress a hiss of pain. It hurt like hell…

Sasuke stopped halfway in, and leaned closer to kiss him tenderly. "Are you okay?" He whispered.

Naruto locked eyes with him, and saw that his beautiful dark eyes were caring, gentle, and so worried. He made a little smile.

"I told you, I can take it." He caressed the soft and now messy raven hair with his hands, pulling him into a kiss.

Sasuke penetrated him fully, and Naruto bit his lip to repress a pained moan. Sasuke was caressing his hair, his face, his whole body to try to relax him. He kissed his neck softly, lingering at his ear a little. After that he moved down to his nipples. That felt really good, and distracted Naruto from the pain when Sasuke started moving inside of him.

Soon Sasuke was distracted from any other activity, and he threw his head back.

"Shit… Naruto… so tight…" He moaned in pure pleasure.

"Yeah what'd you expect?" Naruto muttered half-teasingly through clenched teeth.

Sasuke snapped out of his daze to look down at the blond, frowning. "You sure you're okay?"

"It hurts," he admitted, "but… it's getting better."

The raven slowed down his thrusts, and carefully tried different angles. At some point Naruto felt pleasure mixing in with the pain, and it soon became overwhelming.

"Ah… fuck… harder…"

Sasuke smirked, but complied willingly. "I see it's much better now…"

"Yeah, just… ah that feels good… just keep doing that, just like that…"

Naruto could see that Sasuke was really close to release. His breathing was fast, and his whole body was trembling. He grabbed Naruto's painfully hard cock with his pale hand and started stroking him really fast. Naruto arched his back, enjoying all those combinations of pleasure making his body go into overdrive.

They came together, and for a moment Sasuke stayed inside of Naruto. They were simply looking at each other, their breathing and trembling slowing down.

Then the raven slowly pulled away, and lay down beside him. Naruto felt kind of empty now. He turned to his side to hug Sasuke fiercely. The latter closed his eyes, pressing himself closer.

"That was…" Naruto hesitated. He didn't know how to describe how he felt. "So intense," he finally said, "I love you…"

The words had just come out. He really meant it. Of course he did. He had always loved Sasuke, with such passion…

The raven pulled away slightly and opened his eyes. "I love you too Naruto." He whispered.

They kissed softly, and then just stayed like this, holding each other close. The forest ground wasn't exactly the most comfortable place, but Naruto didn't care.

It felt so amazing, to finally know that his feelings for Sasuke were not one-sided. At that moment he felt like the luckiest person in the world.

After a moment Naruto felt like lighting the mood a little and, smiling, he said, "Next time I top."

Sasuke let out a little laugh, "Fair enough." He replied.

After another few minutes they decided it would be better to go to Naruto's apartment for the rest of the night. Naruto would be assigned to another mission the very next morning, but he wanted to make the most of his time with Sasuke.

They walked together to the entrance of the village, but before getting too closed Sasuke stopped.

"I can't get in through there, there's too much surveillance. You go, and I'll join you later."

"Where are you getting in?"

He was thoughtful for a few seconds, and then said, "North I think. I noticed there were fewer shinobi guarding it at night, and they tend to be lazy asses."

Naruto chuckled, "You really are gonna be a great help to improve the village's security when I become Hokage. You're gonna know all its flaws."

"Pretty much," Sasuke said.

They kissed, and then parted, Sasuke running around the village to reach the North entrance, and Naruto going back to his apartment.

As promised, Sasuke joined him later. He climbed to the bedroom window, that Naruto had left opened, and then he stripped to his boxers and climbed in the bed next to him. The blond smiled and kissed him, and then they fell asleep in each other's arms for the few hours that were left of the night.


	12. Captured

Chapter 11 - Captured

It turned out Tsunade didn't have a new mission to give him after all. Naruto was pissed, because at first he thought he had gotten up early for nothing, when he could have slept in with Sasuke. But Tsunade proved him wrong.

"I'm retiring, Naruto."

She laughed softly as his blue eyes went wide. But as soft as her laugh was, it was still filled with emotion. She stood up and they simply looked at each other for a moment.

He finally managed to ask, "When?"

"This evening, the ceremony will be held. You're gonna become the sixth Hokage Naruto."

"Why tell me only now?"

"Because I just decided," she smiled, "of course, I've been thinking a lot about it lately. You became a junin, you proved yourself on dangerous missions…"

"Not really," Naruto interrupted.

She frowned, "Well, yes, of course, and you were the leader on your last mission. You took out those enemies by yourself, and no one got hurt, it was a success."

Naruto swallowed hard. He didn't like this. He didn't want Tsunade's decision to be based on a lie.

"Tsunade no baa-chan, can I tell you something?"

"Of course," she said. Her expression was serious, but still kind.

He took a deep breath, "It was Sasuke. He helped me on the mission."

Her expression lost all its kindness. She frowned, "What? Sasuke's here, near Konoha?"

"Yes," he admitted. "But he's not a threat. You know I would've never let him near the village if I knew he wanted to harm us."

She stood up, and Naruto took a step back.

"Then why would he stay around here?" she asked angrily, "Clearly he's plotting against Konoha again!"

Naruto sighed, "If you wanna know his reason for staying near Konoha, I'll give it to you!"

"I'm all ears."

"He loves me," he said simply, and Tsunade's angry expression changed into one of confusion. Naruto went on, "And I love him. You're the first person I tell. But I have no choice. I don't want you to send shinobi after him."

"Naruto, Sasuke has to go to jail."

"The punishment for being rogue ninja is death!" Naruto exclaimed, "You think I'd send the person I love to die?"

"You're not Hokage yet."

He let out a heavy breath. "I know," he said, "and I knew you would go back on your decision after I told you this."

She looked pained at this. "Well, what am I supposed to do? I always thought you'd do what's best for the village, but now, I just don't know…"

"It's okay," Naruto said, "I understand. Tsunade, can you please be the Hokage a little longer? I'll replace you when you no longer doubt me, and when I've proven that I'm right about Sasuke."

She fell back in her chair. "Naruto," she said quietly, "as the Hokage I have to doubt you but… I trust you, and I always will."

"I know," he smiled.

"So then, you won't mind me giving you an S-rank mission?"

"What?" he raised a brow, "So you _did_ have a mission for me?"

"Well, no, but I'm looking for someone to lead this mission, and I'm low on capable ninja right now…"

Naruto rolled his eyes; why wasn't he surprised? She was always so disorganized.

"There's a small village in the south of our country that has been evacuated." She said as she handed him the description of the mission. "The people are safe for now, but they need help to return home."

"Why?" he asked.

"Didn't you read? It's written down on the description…"

"I can't read and listen to you at the same time!"

"There's a group of dangerous ninja in this village." She explained.

"Same old, same old," he sighed, "what do they want? A revolution or something?"

"Apparently their revolution includes killing people randomly. This village has suffered important losses already; they were forced to evacuate, kicked out of their own homes. They're extremely dangerous Naruto, don't take them lightly. I don't know what they want, but it doesn't really matter. As long as you stop them."

"Got it," he said.

"I'd recommend Neji and Lee for this mission. Tenten is still at the hospital because of a previous mission, and Gai is gone on a mission."

"Do I bring them here or…?"

"No," she shook her head, "just explain them the situation, and go as soon as you can. The lord of the village paid me a really good amount."

He repressed the urge to roll his eyes at her. He left the room quickly, and went to search for Neji and Lee.

He found them easily enough; at their favourite training grounds. They were battling like the eternal rivals they were. Naruto smiled as he looked at them for a moment.

They noticed him, and stopped.

"Hey Naruto," Neji made a little smile as he fixed his clothes and hair.

"Naruto!" Lee exclaimed loudly, "What brings you here? Do you want to train youthfully with us?"

"I have a question Lee," Naruto said, "what's the difference between training youthfully and just training?"

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "I will have to ask Gai-sensei when he comes back from his mission!"

Neji and Naruto exchanged a smile.

"Anyway," Naruto said, "I'm here because Tsunade sent me. We have an S-rank mission. She chose us three with me as the leader. She said there was no need to go back to see her, and that we could leave as soon as we were ready."

"I'm always ready for a new mission! We can go right now!" Lee exclaimed, bouncing.

"I'm gonna grab my things really quick," Neji said, and turned to look at Lee, "you might wanna do the same Lee, you know, some water at least…"

"Oh, right," he said.

Naruto chuckled, "Anyway, we meet at the south entrance in fifteen minutes, is that okay?"

They agreed, and parted, each going to their home. Naruto quickly grabbed his things and then he ran to the place Suigetsu, Karin and Jugo were sharing. Earlier this morning, Sasuke had told him he would go there to get his clothes back.

He knocked on the door, and Karin came to open.

"You lied to me you stupid fox boy!"

"Huh?"

"During the mission! I asked you if you knew where Sasuke was! He's in Suigetsu's room right now. And I know you knew he was in Konoha."

"I didn't lie. I just didn't answer," he said. "It wasn't safe in front of Kiba."

She snorted, but she let him in. She led him to Suigetsu's room.

Sasuke was sitting with him, and he had his own clothes back on.

"Naruto!" Suigetsu exclaimed, "Maybe you'll be able to tell me!"

"Tell you what?" Naruto asked, but his eyes didn't leave Sasuke.

"Who's topping! Sasuke doesn't wanna tell me."

Naruto blushed.

"Stop it with that!" Karin protested, "Sasuke's not gay."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at that. Sasuke made an almost smile as he looked at him.

"Stupid Karin," Suigetsu said, "Look at how they're undressing each other with their eyes."

Naruto glanced away, still blushing a little.

"Shut up!" Karin exclaimed, "You're embarrassing Sasuke!"

Naruto looked back at Sasuke. He didn't look embarrassed at all.

"Just kiss or something," Suigetsu suggested, "so that she shuts up about it already."

"It's supposed to be a secret," Naruto said.

"It's not even my fault," Sasuke shrugged helplessly as he got up, "Suigetsu just guessed it by himself."

To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke actually did kiss him.

He heard Suigetsu say, "Let's give them some privacy. Go live your epic fail somewhere else you crazy bitch."

"Your friends are weird," Naruto whispered when the other two had left.

"Yours too," Sasuke replied, "and they all want to get in your pants those annoying fuckers."

"Maybe I could say the same," Naruto teased.

"Well now they know I'm already taken," he teased back.

"I have to go on a mission, I don't know when I'll be back," he said more seriously. He brushed Sasuke's bangs aside and caressed his cheek.

"I'll go with you," Sasuke breathed against his lips.

"I'm going with Neji and Lee," Naruto bit his lip. He knew Sasuke wouldn't like that.

"Neji?" he frowned.

"He's not gonna try anything Sasuke, he's not a horny pervert like you."

"Look who's talking."

Naruto chuckled, and kissed him softly. "You don't have to worry."

"He got you drunk the other night."

"He was just being influenced by Sai," Naruto shrugged it away.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked, "I'm gonna follow you from a distance."

Naruto sighed, "I suppose you're not asking for permission. And even if I don't tell you, you'll follow me anyway."

"You're starting to know me well."

"We're heading south," Naruto said, "I have to go, or I'll be late to meet with the others."

Sasuke nodded, and kissed him one last time, "I'll catch up to you guys in no time."

He chuckled, and shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah I know. You're like my crazy personal bodyguard."

xxx

It didn't take them long to reach the small village – only a few hours. Sasuke was doing a good job of hiding his presence; even in Sage mode, Naruto could barely feel it. Neji and Lee didn't notice anything.

After exploring from a distance, with a great help of Neji and his byakugan, they realized that the village was empty, save for ten men, and two women. The description of the mission that Tsunade had given Naruto said that there were only five people. As the leader, this made Naruto hesitate.

These twelve people were currently at the inn. Naruto, Lee and Neji hid in the woods.

"What do we do?" he asked them. "We're greatly outnumbered. I'd understand if you prefer returning to Konoha to gather more people."

"No," Neji said, "you're the leader, you decide."

"Neji's right," Lee nodded, "if you think we're strong enough for this, then we'll stay."

Naruto hesitated, "It's hard to say… We'll need to spy on them. See what they're up to, and what are their powers. Then we'll decide if we attack."

"Works for me," Neji said.

He activated his byakugan again. "It seems they were all eating together, and now they're leaving the inn. We'll need to be careful."

The men all made their way to something that looked like a cemetery. Naruto and the others followed from afar, to spy on them. They placed themselves on the side of a building, where they could see what was happening, but the others couldn't see them. It only _looked_ like a cemetery because the ground was all dug out, exposing the coffins. What the hell were these guys up to? Naruto wondered with a shudder.

"Their chakra are important, that much I can tell," Neji said, his eyes returning to normal, "but they're clearly not gonna use their powers here. I wonder what they're trying to dig out."

At some point one of the guys seemed to yell something at the two women, and they went to help.

All twelve of them were now very focused on their task, digging every part of the little cemetery.

"Should we attack now?" Naruto asked his friends. "I don't know what they're up to, but I don't like it. We can take them by surprise. Maybe it's wiser not to wait…"

He interrupted himself, and turned to glance behind. Neji and Lee had felt it too. What the hell was he doing?

"You do have to attack now," Sasuke said, looking directly at Naruto.

"You! What are you doing here?" Neji hissed in a low voice.

"Naruto," Lee said, confused, "should we attack him, or…?"

"No," Naruto said, "Sasuke, why do you say we need to attack now?"

He wouldn't have revealed himself if it weren't important, Naruto thought.

"Because Kabuto's on his way here."

"What?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Didn't he die in the war?" Neji inquired.

"No," Naruto said, "I think he ran away after Madara was killed."

"Doesn't surprise me," Sasuke said, "anyway, I'm gonna take a wild guess and say he wants to use dark resurrection jutsu."

"But why?" Naruto asked. "I mean, those people are just villagers, not ninja. Why does he want to use their bodies?"

"Maybe he wants to recreate an army," Sasuke said, "with both ninja and civilians, I have no idea. But it seems we've caught them even before they started."

"Yeah," Naruto said, "let's attack them now, like you said."

"What's going on here?" Neji sighed, "Since when can we trust him?"

"Please, Neji," Naruto said, "Trust me on this one…"

"Guys," Lee suddenly interrupted, "I think they noticed us."

They all looked back towards the cemetery. Three of the men were looking in their direction. Maybe they had a sensor type amongst them. Soon all twelve of them had stopped their activities, and they were walking towards them.

"Well, I guess surprise attack's a goner." Naruto said. "Let's go."

xxx

Kabuto's plan had been simple. First he had gathered strong allies – rogue ninja who hated this world and were willing to work with him. Actually more members had joined recently. All was going well. He wanted to recreate Orochimaru's plan of destroying Konoha once and for all.

He would send his allies to many villages in the fire country, and he would raise an army of dead. It didn't matter if they were not ninja – actually it would make them easier to control.

He had perfected his technique of the dark resurrection. He could control a very important number of people.

His allies were currently in the first village. When Kabuto arrived there, he saw that they were being attacked. Not by just anyone at that – Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, and two other Konoha ninja. Interesting, he thought, pleased. No matter what happened, he would gain from this situation.

If these powerful Konoha ninja were defeated, well, it would be easier for him to crush the Leaf. If his allies were defeated, the Konoha ninja would surely be weakened as well. Kabuto, of course, wanted Sasuke. He wanted his body; the power of his eyes. He believed he could recreate all of Orochimaru's ambitions.

Yes, he thought as he watched them fight from the forest, this was his chance to capture the last Uchiha. With the power of the mangekyou sharingan, he wouldn't need allies, and he wouldn't need an army.

xxx

The fight was horrible. Sure, they were powerful, but they were outnumbered, and their enemies were powerful as well. Naruto was in Kyubi mode. He had put two enemies down so far with his powerful rasengan attacks. He had a few injuries, but nothing serious, and besides the power of the Kyubi was healing him very fast.

From the corner of his eye, he was constantly checking up on the others. Sasuke seemed fine. He was fighting with his sword and his lightning element techniques.

Lee had put an opponent down, but then he had been attacked by two others, and he had been crushed by a fire style attack. But Neji had checked up on him quickly, and he was still alive, just unconscious.

Neji was having some trouble as well. He was fast, and he could very easily strike many opponents at once. Except some of them were long range fighters, and he couldn't see all of the attacks coming. He couldn't defend himself properly when he was already distracted fighting close enemies.

Lee and Neji were clearly in trouble, but Naruto couldn't help them.

He was already busy with a third enemy - one of the women. She had two swords, and she was very fast. Every time she managed to slice his skin it sucked up his chakra – not to mention he was losing a lot of blood. When he finally managed to deceive her with shadow clones, and to strike with a rasengan, it was too late. Neji had fallen down trying to protect both Lee and himself. They were about to both be killed, and Naruto couldn't reach them on time.

Thankfully, Sasuke saved them. He placed himself right in front of Neji and Lee, and produced his impressive ultimate defence; Susanoo. The enemies attacked with lightning, and fire, but it was no use. Naruto let out a relieved breath. Then he continued fighting to help Sasuke.

But the seven enemies left were strong. To put it simply, they were at junin level, just like Naruto. He tried to take on two of them at the same time to save Sasuke and his friends, but it was a mistake. It seemed they didn't care about each other because one sacrificed the other – letting him get hit by Naruto's rasengan – and he attacked Naruto from behind with poisoned kunai.

Naruto could already feel the dreadful substance run in his veins, but he still had some time before it affected him. He had to help Sasuke. The latter's defence was weakening; he was being attacked by all their opponents at once. Neji and Lee had regained consciousness, but they were still too weak to fight.

Sasuke used Amaterasu; he had no choice. Naruto knew he was about to use it even before he did. The atmosphere tensed, it became almost suffocating. After Sasuke had pronounced the word and directed the attack, the enemies went down in terrible agony under the black flames.

Naruto looked back at Sasuke. He had fallen to his knees, panting. His eyes were black again, and the Susanoo had disappeared. He wanted to go to him, but he couldn't. He was paralyzed by the poison, and he fell to the ground, his vision going black.

xxx

When he woke up again, he knew something was off. Some time had passed. The sky was darker than before. Neji was sitting beside him, looking worried. Lee was unconscious again. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"I used the antidote in your bag." Neji explained, "I know Sakura always makes you bring a few ones."

He made a weak smile as he sat up. His body hurt, but it wasn't so bad. The Kyubi's chakra had already healed up most of his injuries.

"I'll have to thank her again when I go back to the village. So, what happened to Lee? And where's Sasuke?"

Neji looked down. "I'm sorry, Naruto. Kabuto took him away."

Naruto felt his blood run cold.

"Sasuke saved us," Neji glanced behind at Lee, then back at Naruto, "I'll never forget that. But Kabuto was too fast. Lee tried to stop him, but…"

Naruto stood. He looked at Neji. "Which direction?"

"Naruto…"

"Neji," he replied firmly, "which direction?"

"North-west," Neji answered reluctantly.

"How long has it been?"

"About thirty minutes."

Naruto was reassured by this. He still had time.

"I'll go after them. You take care of Lee. Go back to the village. Give your report to the Hokage. She'll understand. And if you want to do one more thing for me…"

"Sure," he said, "anything."

"Please go find Suigetsu, Karin and Jugo, and tell them what happened, and where I'm heading. They can help me."

Neji nodded. "Be careful, Naruto."

Naruto nodded back. And then he was gone.

* * *

><p>AN: Since this is a rather small chapter, and a cruel cliffhanger, you get two chapters at once.

Also, I wanted to say a little something... for those who read the manga. I'm aware this fanfic no longer makes sense lol. But oh well, I'm gonna continue it anyway, and it's gonna continue not making sense. I'm just thinking, no big deal, it is a fanfic after all.


	13. Come home to me

Chapter 12 - Come home to me

Kabuto had gone to one of Orochimaru's old hideouts, situated at the border between the River and the Fire country. It had been too easy to capture Sasuke. He had been already weakened, and preoccupied with protecting his friends. He really had changed.

Now Kabuto had him locked up in a room. He was unconscious, and Kabuto continued to regularly give him doses of strong sedative. And just in case he had tied his ankles and wrists with chakra sucking ropes, and blindfolded him. He wouldn't make the same mistake as Orochimaru before. He would make sure Sasuke was in no condition to attack him before he could perform the change.

xxx

Try to find a fucking hideout, Naruto thought, frustrated, as he leaned against a tree. He had been searching for hours, and he was exhausted. At first he had sensed Kabuto's chakra – it had been faint, but still, it had given him a chance to keep running after him. But then he had lost it again. And now here he was in the west forests of the Fire country, in the middle of the night.

Kabuto was most likely in one of Orochimaru's old hideouts. Fucking old creepy bastards and their god damn hideouts everywhere, Naruto thought, sighing.

He found his hope again when he heard voices behind him.

"Yeah that's him," Suigetsu's voice said.

"Of course that's him you moron," Karin's voice said, "I sensed his chakra."

"You guys! Thank God!" Naruto exclaimed. "I could really use a little help."

"Jugo's still gone on a mission," Suigetsu explained, "But Karin and I started looking for you as soon as Neji told us."

Naruto made a note to self to thank Neji later.

"So we're dealing with that bastard Kabuto right?" Suigetsu asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah I was thinking he was probably hiding Sasuke somewhere around here. I don't know if you guys know of Orochimaru's hideouts or…?"

"No," Karin shook her head, "I knew only of the one I was guarding."

"Suigetsu?" Naruto said, hopeful.

The silver-haired guy was thoughtful. "I think there was one… near the River country, maybe even at the border I'm not sure…"

"That's kinda vague," Karin said.

"Hey that's better than nothing!" Suigetsu protested.

"He's right," Naruto said. "So why don't we split up and then, in about half an hour, meet again here," he looked around to make sure the spot was easily recognized.

"There's a little stream running over there," Suigetsu pointed behind him, and Naruto stepped closer to take a look. "We can meet up there."

"Perfect," Naruto agreed.

He started searching again. This time, at least, he was hopeful. He knew there was indeed a hideout in the area, and he had two friends helping him. They would find Sasuke in no time – he hoped so, at least.

xxx

Sasuke had come to two conclusions. He had woken up, tied up and blindfolded, completely drained of his energy and chakra. So he'd had a lot of time to think.

His first conclusion was that Kabuto wanted his body. If he had wanted his eyes, he would have just killed him already to take them. To take his body, Sasuke supposed he needed to prepare or whatever. He didn't know how Kabuto was planning to do this, but he figured he had creepy preparations to make.

His second conclusion was that Kabuto was an idiot. Sure Sasuke was blindfolded and tied up, and he had given him a lot of sedative to weaken him. That was all well – except Kabuto would need to untie him before taking over his body. If he didn't, he would end up tied up here alone in an old creepy place no one knew about, and he'd probably end up dying of starvation. Surely Kabuto was not _that_ stupid.

Sasuke's plan was simple enough; he would pretend to be still asleep, he would wait for Kabuto to untie him, and then he would fucking kill the annoying bastard.

It didn't exactly go as planned.

Well, at first it did. Kabuto entered the room, saw that Sasuke was very still, and untied him. But it seemed he had been ready for the possibility that Sasuke would try to attack him.

It only took Sasuke a half-second to take off his blindfold, but it was already too long. As he noticed he wasn't really sleeping Kabuto immediately struck him in the chest with his hand forming a chakra blade.

Sasuke crawled to the floor, holding his chest. He wasn't _that_ hurt; he just wanted to make Kabuto believe he was.

"Idiot," he spat, "if you want to take over my body, don't kill it."

Kabuto laughed, "I'm not gonna kill you, just weaken you enough so you don't disrupt the procedure."

As fast as he could with his weakened body, Sasuke jumped to his feet and kicked Kabuto in the face. The latter was thrown on the opposite side of the room. As soon as he got up he used Orochimaru style attacks – snakes.

Soon big white snakes were attacking Sasuke from everywhere; biting, and striking at him. He didn't have chakra, and he didn't have weapons. All he could do was punch them, or kick them. But it was useless. So he just curled up on himself and waited. As he had thought, soon Kabuto ended his jutsu. He didn't want to destroy the very body he wanted to take over, after all.

Sasuke took advantage of this. He jumped on a shocked Kabuto and landed powerful and fast blows, using his best thai jutsu abilities. The reason for Kabuto's shock was obvious. Sasuke was weakened, he still had sedative in his body, and he was bleeding and hurt. He should have been down, nearly unconscious. Yet he was fighting fiercely.

He could barely feel his body anymore, yet he fought. Kabuto had underestimated him, and now he would pay the price. He was the last one of the Uchiha clan, and he wouldn't let some pathetic freak defeat him.

But Kabuto came over his shock. He formed chakra into blades on his hands again, and struck at Sasuke's muscles to slow him down. Sasuke blocked most of it, but not all, and he fell. Again, he got back up by sheer will.

"Will you stay still already!" Kabuto hissed.

He continued striking at Sasuke's muscles, and even his vital points. It wasn't fatal, but extremely painful. Sasuke screamed in pain as he couldn't block all the swift attacks. But as he fought desperately he managed to steal a kunai from Kabuto's arsenal.

His eyes widened and he tried to take it back, but it was too late. Adrenaline rushed through Sasuke's body now that he knew he actually had a chance to win. He managed to counter Kabuto's attacks, and stab him in the stomach. This didn't stop Kabuto completely, but it slowed him down enough. The second time Sasuke stabbed him, it was in the heart.

Kabuto fell to the floor with a shocked look on his face, as the life slipped out of him quickly. Blood poured from his mouth, and his eyes rolled over. He was dead.

Sasuke stumbled, dropped the bloody kunai, and also fell down, unconscious.

xxx

Suigetsu and Naruto were the first ones to get back to the meeting place. They looked at each other expectantly.

"Nothing, you?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing…"

Naruto looked down, his heart aching at the thought of what could be happening to his lover.

But then Suigetsu said, "I'm sure Karin found him, she's an excellent chakra sensor."

Naruto gave a little smile as he looked up at him, "Don't tell her that. She'll have a heart attack if she realizes you're actually flattering her."

He laughed, "We don't hate each other. We just like to pretend we hate each other."

Naruto said, "Just like me and Sasuke… back when we were team seven…"

Suigetsu put his hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure his fine. That bastard's impossible to kill. I've seen him take down the toughest opponents. I'm just saying… Kabuto signed his own death warrant when he decided to capture Sasuke."

Naruto gave a slight nod. He was grateful for Suigetsu's reassuring words, but he couldn't stop worrying.

"Where the hell is she?" Suigetsu eventually said, looking around them in the dark forest.

As if on cue, Karin appeared, running towards them.

"I found him," she said, panting, "His chakra, but it's really weak, let's hurry up…"

The entrance to the hideout was very hard to see. It was under a small cliff, and behind a couple large trees. Thankfully, Karin could sense Sasuke's chakra nearby, so they had known exactly where to search.

Inside, Suigetsu and Naruto followed Karin through the dark and gloomy corridors.

"I can only feel Sasuke's chakra," Karin said, "not Kabuto's."

"Maybe he's dead," Suigetsu shrugged.

Just like them, Naruto felt reassured. But when they stopped in the entrance of a room, he got worried again. Kabuto was down, covered with blood, but Sasuke was also down next to him. Naruto ran to his side.

He had bruises and scratches, but nothing seemed fatal. His breathing was hard though, and his heartbeat slow.

"Let's get him out of here," Suigetsu said.

Naruto nodded, and slid his arms under Sasuke to pick him up. His head rolled on his shoulder.

"You need help?" Suigetsu asked. "You look tired."

"No I'm okay," Naruto said softly. He had enough stamina left to at least carry Sasuke outside.

So they made their way back, and finally Naruto could put Sasuke down on the dry leaves covered ground. He kept his head in his lap.

"Should I try to wake him up?" he asked the others hesitantly.

"Well," Karin said, "if he woke up he could bite my arm, and I could heal him…"

"Or," Suigetsu said slowly, "we could camp here for the rest of the night, and go back to Konoha in the morning."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, okay, let's make a fire."

They gathered some branches for the fire. They had to light it up by rubbing the branches together, and it was a pain in the ass.

At some point Suigetsu went to sit next to the still unconscious Sasuke, and he said, "Man can't you wake up to do your katon thing and light us a nice big fire?"

It earned him a chuckle from Naruto, and a "moron" from Karin.

Even though they weren't on a dangerous mission or anything, they decided to take up turns. Naruto slept with his arm around Sasuke for two hours, and then he was woken up by Suigetsu.

Naruto sat up and rubbed his eyes, yawning. As for Suigetsu, he fell asleep almost immediately.

It was during Naruto's turn that Sasuke woke up. His eyelids fluttered and opened, revealing blurry dark eyes. When they focused on Naruto, Sasuke seemed relieved.

"You found me," he whispered. Naruto simply nodded and smiled. Sasuke let out a quiet chuckle, "you're good at doing that."

Naruto reached out with his hand to caress the raven bangs. "Actually Karin found you."

Sasuke lifted himself up on his elbows, and winced in pain. Clearly his whole body was hurting him. Naruto wrapped his arms around him, and helped him sit up.

The raven leaned against Naruto, resting his head on his shoulder. "I killed Kabuto," he said in a low voice.

"I know," Naruto said softly. He pulled him closer and rubbed his arm to warm him up.

"Killed him with a fucking kunai," he chuckled darkly.

"It's over now," Naruto said comfortingly.

"Yeah…that'll teach him to be a fucking Orochimaru wannabe. It sure wasn't as fun as when I killed Orochimaru though."

"What was so fun about it?" the blond chuckled quietly.

Sasuke shrugged slightly, looking at the fire. His hand was resting on Naruto's thigh.

"I beat him at his own game. I defeated him in his own stupid genjutsu when he wanted to take my body. And then when Kabuto saw me he asked which one I was. I answered, which one do you think? It was fun."

Naruto let out a little laugh. "You're insane."

"Maybe. Killing Kabuto wasn't fun. It was just… painful." He winced as though his injuries were reminding him of how painful it had been.

The blond kissed his hair and tightened his hold around him.

"What about you?" Sasuke asked, lifting his head to meet his eyes. "You were unconscious when Kabuto got to us. And what about Neji and Lee?"

"You care about them," Naruto smiled fondly as he played with his hair.

Sasuke leaned in his touch. "No… but they're your friends, and I know you'd be sad if they died."

"Whatever you say," Naruto chuckled.

"So they're fine?"

"Yeah. Neji used antidote for me, and then I decided to go after you. I ordered Neji to take care of Lee and to go back to the village. I also asked him to tell Karin and Suigetsu what was happening, so here we are."

Sasuke nodded. He closed his eyes and buried his face in Naruto's neck again. He still seemed tired, and worn out.

"You're coming back to the village with us," Naruto said.

Tired or not, dark eyes snapped wide open at those words. "You're the one that's insane."

Naruto shook his head, "I'm not insane. Neji and Lee saw you protecting them, Sasuke. They'll spread the word. Trust me. It's time for you to come home."

"It's not my home," Sasuke argued, "I don't have a home… Well, if I have one, then it's you."

Naruto smiled and kissed his lips softly. "Then come home to me. If you hadn't noticed yet, I live in Konoha, and I intend to stay there."

"You and your damn village…"

Naruto glared at him. Sasuke didn't look scared at all. Maybe he'd need to work on his glare…

But actually, Sasuke's words gave him an idea. He opted for a different strategy.

"Sasuke, remember what I once told you… that I couldn't become Hokage until I saved you?"

"Of course I remember. I thought it was stupid."

Naruto took a deep breath, and tried to forget Sasuke had just said that.

"Anyway… you know how much I care about the village, and becoming Hokage, right?" Sasuke nodded. Naruto continued, "Yesterday morning, Tsunade told me she was ready to retire, and give me the title of Sixth Hokage."

Sasuke pulled away from him. "Really?"

"Yeah," Naruto shrugged, "but… I told her to wait a little longer."

"Why?"

"You know why."

Sasuke sighed, and glanced away. "Just because Neji and Lee are suddenly my new best friends doesn't mean I'm not a rogue ninja anymore, Naruto."

"Just try, for me, please…" he cupped Sasuke's chin, forcing him to look up into his eyes, "Please," he said again.

He sighed again, "All right fine… but if anyone tries to put me in jail, I'll kill them."

"Sasuke…"

"Fine! I'll just break their legs."

Naruto couldn't help but laugh – even though Sasuke looked serious. He wrapped his arms around the raven and pulled him close.

"I love you so much," he whispered in his ear.

"I love you too," Sasuke said back.

"And I won't let anyone hurt you. I'll stay with you every second. It'll be my turn to be your bodyguard."

Sasuke pulled away, and reached with his hand to place a few strands of blond hair behind his ear. "What about your reputation?"

"You don't understand," Naruto whispered. "That's what I was trying to tell you earlier. The village, being accepted, or being Hokage, all that is very important to me. But it all comes second. You've always come first."

The raven was looking at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"I can't believe you're making that face again."

"What face?" Sasuke asked.

"The same one you made after you killed Danzo. When we met, and you asked me why I cared."

Sasuke made a little smile, "Because we're friends," he quoted. "Yeah I guess I thought after I tried to kill you a couple times you'd give up on that friendship."

"I never give up," Naruto said half-teasing.

"Oh please don't start with that…"

Sasuke pushed him down and climbed on top of him. "Whatever happened to that friendship you were always talking about?"

"Guess it evolved," Naruto chuckled.

Sasuke kissed him. "I guess."

"Hey Sasuke," he said, rolling him over so that they were both lying down on their sides.

"Yeah?"

"It's funny how we can talk about these things now… I mean it's still painful but… we can actually talk about it."

"I suppose sharing memories of trying to kill each other is not a typical conversation topic for couples," Sasuke admitted.

Naruto chuckled. "Probably not… I guess I'll go wake Karin now, so we can get a little bit of sleep…"

"All right."

Naruto shook Karin's shoulder to wake her up. She growled, but she sat up, resigned. She threw a few branches in the fire. When Naruto told her that Sasuke had woken up, she smiled, and suggested that Sasuke bite her to heal.

He declined, saying that he was fine and just needed to rest a little. So Naruto returned by his side. He put his arm around him and kissed his lips softly. He pressed their foreheads together and closed his eyes.

The next day, Sasuke would officially come back to Konoha with them. And Naruto would do everything in his power for things to go well.


	14. New life

Chapter 13 – New life

He didn't like this at all. Sasuke had never wanted to come back to live in this village. Konoha… to him, the simple name of the village was painful. It made him think of Itachi's suffering, of both their broken lives. Sure, he had been tricked by the genjutsu into a version of his life where he loved and protected the village. But it was still just that – a genjutsu. Sasuke could never escape reality, and he couldn't help but hate this place.

But he loved Naruto.

He felt conflicted as he walked a little behind the others. Suigetsu and Karin were walking in front of him, following Naruto. Once in a while the blond sent him worried glances, as if he were afraid Sasuke would run away. Well, the raven couldn't say the idea wasn't tempting.

The thought of hurting Naruto, of disappointing him greatly, was unbearable though. His love for him was too strong. So strong, in fact, that he was able to overcome his hatred for this village. It was too late to back away now.

It was midday, and they had arrived at the Hidden Leaf village's entrance. Sasuke held his breath, feeling uneasy, and out of place. He always tried to hide his insecurities – and he was usually quite good at doing so – but this time it was proving to be difficult. He didn't like the fact that Naruto was ready to jeopardize his reputation for him. Sasuke felt like he didn't deserve this.

"Uzumaki!" An Anbu guard exclaimed, "Is that Uchiha I see with you? The Hokage's orders are to arrest him if he comes near the village!"

The four of them stopped walking. Suigetsu and Karin put themselves protectively on each side of Sasuke. It almost made him smile. But he felt somewhat sad; what if these guys ruined their reputation as well? They had just recently started new lives.

"Please let us pass," Naruto said calmly, "I will talk to the Hokage myself."

The Anbu guard seemed uneasy. But beside him stood another one and he spoke for the first time.

"I trust you, Naruto," he said, "Besides Uchiha was under the Hokage's protection not so long ago. The situation had me worried, but it turned out nothing bad happened."

"Thanks," Naruto smiled.

"I guess I'll compromise," the first guard said, "I'll personally escort you to the Hokage, so that I can protect the villagers from Uchiha if something happens."

Sasuke snorted; did that guy really think he could stop him if he were to attack? What a fool.

The others all looked at him. Naruto sent him a glance that clearly meant 'shut the fuck up.'

Suigetsu whispered, "You might want to cut down the attitude a bit."

Sasuke said nothing. They started walking inside the village. They didn't use the main road to get to the Hokage's building, but there were still a lot of people in the streets. They were all staring at him in shock, and horror.

When he had been under the Hokage's protection there had been notices amongst the shinobi and the villagers. They had known what to expect. But now it was different. The notice had probably changed, informing that he was back to being a criminal. And now here he was wandering around in the streets as if it were perfectly normal. He suddenly felt nervous at entering the Hokage's building.

What if they sent him to jail? Well of course he wouldn't let them but, what if they tried? He didn't want to kill anyone, and he didn't want to cause trouble. Not that he cared, but for Naruto, of course. Naruto would hate him if he were to harm anyone. He suddenly felt very lonely as he walked with Suigetsu and Karin. They were right beside him, but he felt as though he was alone in the world.

He was the criminal, the outsider, the one that should never have come back. When Naruto sent him a glance, Sasuke looked away. He suddenly couldn't bear to look into those blue eyes filled with love and trust. He didn't deserve any of it.

It seemed some Shinobi were starting to react. At some point they had no choice but to go back on the main road. They were close to the Hokage's building, right next to the hospital, when a group of shinobi blocked their way.

"What's going on here?" one said.

"We were going to talk with the Hokage," Naruto said, "please let us through."

There were a lot of indignant whispers.

"I thought we could trust your judgement Uzumaki."

"That guy is a dangerous criminal!"

"Yeah! Why isn't he tied up or anything?"

Sasuke kept on a completely blank face. Actually he tried to make sure he looked bored, and annoyed – which was a little bit how he felt so it wasn't entirely an act. The only reason for his being secretly very anxious was Naruto. He didn't want to disappoint him, but he was pretty sure things wouldn't go as smoothly as the blond wished…

As Naruto argued with these shinobi, suddenly some of his friends walked out of the hospital's main entrance.

Sakura was there, with Neji and Lee. They had a few bandages here and there, but other than that they seemed perfectly fine. They reacted very fast as they took in the situation – they immediately placed themselves on Sasuke's side.

Sakura seemed unsure as she looked at him, but Sasuke forced himself to look up at her and it seemed as their eyes met her resolve grew firm. He wondered what it was that she had seen in his eyes that convinced her. As for Lee and Neji, they didn't hesitate to defend Sasuke along with Naruto.

"He protected us during an S-rank mission," Neji informed the growing crowd, "Lee and I would've died without his help!"

Sasuke saw Naruto exchange a smile with Neji. Sasuke wondered if Neji was partly doing this to get closer to Naruto.

There was quite a commotion in the street at this point. Shinobi and villagers were curious, and a larger crowd was gathering. At some point Sasuke spotted a certain red-head coming in their direction.

"Jugo," he said when he arrived beside him.

"I heard people whisper that you're in the village," he explained. He looked at Suigetsu and Karin, and then back at Sasuke. "I just came back from a mission, and as soon as I heard I started looking for you."

"Must not have been really hard to find," Suigetsu chuckled, indicating the large crowd surrounding them.

While Naruto was still arguing with some shinobi, Sakura addressed Sasuke.

"Have you made up your mind at last, Sasuke?" she asked hesitantly, "Are you staying here with us for good?"

"I don't know," he said quietly.

It was the truth. He didn't know what else to say. It would all depend on what would happen next, and if people accepted him.

"I understand," she said, voice full of emotion. "But I hope you'll stay."

After that Naruto came towards them. They were reunited once again - three childhood friends, amongst the surrounding chaos. Sasuke felt helpless, and like he depended on them. He knew he was powerful enough to destroy anyone who might attack him, but he didn't want to. For Naruto and Sakura's sake, he wouldn't destroy the villagers and their friends. So then, if they put him in jail, or tried to kill him, he was helpless… He sure as hell wasn't one for big passionate speeches on how he had redeemed himself. So what could he do but rely on them?

"Let's go see Tsunade," Naruto said.

Sakura frowned, "But they won't let us through."

Sasuke followed her glance. The angry shinobi blocking their way had their weapons ready. Jugo, Karin, Suigetsu, Neji, Lee, and finally Naruto and Sakura, were like a protective circle shielding Sasuke from them. He shivered. He suddenly felt extremely cold, and nervous. He felt like he didn't belong, like he shouldn't be here, and like Naruto should just choose someone else to be his lover.

But then the blond took his arm and stroked it gently. "Are you all right?" He asked softly.

As he looked up into those eyes so blue Sasuke realized he had been lying to himself just now. He couldn't possibly wish for Naruto to be with someone else. They were soul mates, they completed each other, they loved each other with a passion so intense, and it was the only thing Sasuke believed in at this point. As he had written him on a little piece of paper not so long ago, Naruto was the only thing he had left.

It seemed as if Naruto could read his mind, could feel his distress and despair, because he leaned closer and wrapped his arms around him. He held him tightly and lovingly, whispering in his ear that everything was going to be all right.

Suddenly the crowd quieted down. The Hokage had come by herself, probably alarmed by the commotion. Sasuke and Naruto pulled away, only to see that Tsunade was making her way towards them.

"Naruto," she frowned, "care to explain what's going on here?"

Sasuke heard the blond take a deep breath.

"Uchiha Sasuke was once our enemy because he had been brainwashed by Madara."

Not really, Sasuke thought, but he knew that it was better to let Naruto talk.

"But he has changed, and he has recently proved it by helping Neji, Lee and myself on an S-rank mission," Naruto continued. Neji and Lee agreed fervently. "Also, he killed a dangerous enemy of our village, Kabuto."

"Is this true?" Tsunade asked, "Kabuto is dead?"

"Yes," Naruto answered, "I can tell you the exact location of the hideout where his body is, if you need proof."

She nodded thoughtfully. "All right, come to my office, just you three," she addressed Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura.

They followed her, and this time the crowd let them through. Once alone in Tsunade's office, she unsurprisingly burst out.

"Naruto! What were you thinking? How selfish of you, to bring him here without giving any warning first!"

"No," the blond said, "If I had truly been selfish, I would've brought him here long ago. I waited for the moment to be right. What I said outside was true."

Sakura turned to look at Sasuke, "So you really defeated Kabuto? But how?"

"Long story," he muttered.

"It must have been a horrible fight," she said.

"I had the advantage," Sasuke told her, "he wanted my body so he couldn't kill me."

"Same old, huh?" Sakura shook her head in disbelief, "Poor Sasuke…"

"Enough of that!" Tsunade interrupted. "He has to go to jail."

"No," Naruto protested, "I didn't bring him back here so he's sent to jail."

"There's no other way," Tsunade insisted, "what will it look like when the other nations know I'm letting him wander around freely? He almost killed the Raikage's brother. He attacked the Kage summit! He killed Danzo…"

Sasuke let out a deep breath. He was forcing himself to stay calm, but this was getting annoying. She was talking as though he wasn't even here.

"Do you want me to write you a list…?" he started, but Naruto nudged him in the ribs.

"Those were all Madara's orders to him!" Naruto told her.

"I can tell he has changed," Sakura said, "His chakra is not as cold as it used to be. He is not consumed by hatred and darkness anymore."

"How poetic," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto nudged him in the ribs again. Sasuke glanced at him sideways, and then something strange happened. It seemed the seriousness of the situation, and Sasuke's cynical comment got to Naruto, because he started laughing. Sasuke couldn't help a little smile from forming on his lips.

"Okay," Sakura smiled, "that's definitely a proof that you changed. Before, you wouldn't have made jokes and smiled like this."

Tsunade sighed heavily, and Naruto turned to look at her.

"You're aware when the other nations demand explications, I can't just tell them that Uchiha is now making jokes and smiling?"

"Hey it's worth a try," Naruto said half-teasing.

She sighed again.

"But seriously," Naruto continued, "can't he just stay with me, at my apartment? I'm gonna, you know, keep an eye on him and be responsible if anything bad happens… Like we did before, when he had lost his memories."

"Well he was staying with me," Sakura corrected.

Naruto muttered something incomprehensible.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"It's better if he stays with me," Naruto muttered.

"Why?" she frowned.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke. The latter shrugged. Naruto took his hand, and intertwined their fingers.

"I already told Tsunade, but Sakura, Sasuke and I, we're… together."

"Oh," she said. "Oh…"

It seemed it was the only sound she could make. She was looking at them as though seeing them for the first time.

"It's so weird," she finally said, "but somehow… right at the same time."

Suddenly another voice was heard behind them, "Isn't it?"

They turned around.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, but he kept Sasuke's hand in his.

"I knew you'd come back eventually, Sasuke," Kakashi said, walking in the office.

He lifted their joined hands. "Guess I don't exactly have a choice. Idiot's in love with this god damn village."

"Hey!" Naruto protested, and pulled his hand away.

"Ah," Kakashi said, "but not as much as he loves you, am I right?"

Sasuke didn't answer.

Naruto raised a brow, "Aren't you shocked, Kakashi-sensei?"

"To be honest," he said, scratching his crazy grey hair, "I saw it coming. The only thing I wasn't sure of was Sasuke's reaction when he regained his memories."

"This is really touching and all," Tsunade said, "but it doesn't solve the problem. If anything, Naruto is too biased to take a decision concerning Sasuke at this point."

"That's why I came here," Kakashi said, "People outside told me you were having a little discussion in your office, and I thought I'd be useful."

"What do you suggest?" Tsunade asked.

"I suggest keeping an eye on Sasuke myself," Kakashi shrugged. "He can stay at my place for a little while. Don't get me wrong, I'd take this very seriously, as if it were a mission."

Tsunade nodded thoughtfully, "Well, it is true that my main concern was that Naruto wouldn't take his task too seriously."

"Hey! I would take it seriously!" Naruto protested.

"Also," Kakashi continued, "unlike you, Naruto, I do not wish to become Hokage. So if my reputation in the village is ruined by this, I really couldn't care less. All I want is to help you guys."

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura smiled.

"And," he added, "unlike Naruto I won't hesitate to kill Sasuke if he were to harm anyone in the village."

"Hn, as if you could."

"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed in warning.

"No it's okay," Kakashi said, "I'm not planning to waste my time watching his every step. We'll train every day, and at the same time I'll finally see if you're as strong as you pretend to be, Sasuke."

"You're on," the raven said.

Naruto looked at the both of them worriedly. "Just don't kill each other, all right?"

"Don't worry Naruto," Kakashi said, "I don't wish to kill him. And even though you once told me you couldn't wait to kill me, Sasuke, I have a feeling it was your madness talking more than anything."

"Guess you're right," Sasuke whispered.

Kakashi smiled under his mask. "Well, then, Lady Hokage, should we go with my plan?"

"Yes," she said, "the villagers and shinobi trust you Kakashi. There shouldn't be a problem within Konoha. It's the other nations I'm worried about. When they hear of this, the other Kages won't be as accepting as us."

"I know," Kakashi said his tone more serious now, "but I'm ready to deal with the consequences."

"So am I," Naruto said. Sakura nodded.

Sasuke glanced down. He felt guilty for bringing them so much trouble.

After that Tsunade and Kakashi set up the rules. Sasuke was not to leave Kakashi's house alone. He had to be with Kakashi at all times when wandering around the streets – if not, he could get arrested. They would train together and eventually go on missions, where Sasuke would continue proving his worth.

When they left the Hokage building, Sakura returned to the hospital after promising to visit Sasuke at Kakashi's house soon. Naruto stayed with them a little bit longer, looking sad. He ended up walking with them, hands shoved in his pockets, towards Kakashi's place.

"Why such a sad face, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"I was kinda hoping that Sasuke could live with me," he said shyly.

"The Hokage would never have agreed to it," Kakashi said. "But hey, Sasuke can't go outside alone, but Tsunade didn't say anything about him staying alone in my house. And I have no problem with you visiting him while I'm not there, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes lit up at that. Kakashi laughed softly.

"Ah, I can't believe you guys… You used to hate each other so much…"

"At first, yeah," Naruto said, "but then it was mostly pretending."

"I wasn't pretending," Sasuke teased.

"You bastard!" Naruto pushed him roughly.

Sasuke almost fell, but he caught himself, and continued walking, although further from Naruto this time. But then he exchanged a smile with the blond. Kakashi noticed this.

"Actually, guys, I really need to run some errands today… There's this new book that I can't wait to buy."

"Of course, I understand," Naruto said, pretending to be serious.

"So this is my place," he led them to the door of his small house, "I'm afraid you'll have to crash on the couch, Sasuke."

"Well I'm used to the comfort of dry leaves and branches, but I think I'll manage."

Kakashi chuckled, "All right, so I'll be back in a few hours."

And then he was gone. Naruto and Sasuke stepped inside, and there was a moment of silence. They simply looked at the small but nice and comfortable house. The living room was at their right, and the dining room and kitchen at the left. There was a hallway further, with probably a bathroom and a bedroom. There seemed to be a little garden at the back. They slipped off their shoes and went to the living room. The couch was black, with a blue and white blanket on it. On the low table were, unsurprisingly, a couple of hentai books.

When Sasuke looked up at Naruto, he noticed he was already staring at him.

"What?" Sasuke asked, amused.

"It went well, didn't it?"

"Yeah…" He let out a relieved sigh, as if Naruto's words reminded him that he had been holding it in.

The blond wrapped his arms around him, and kissed him softly.

"I do love you more than the village. And if you would have refused to come back here, I would have left, and followed you anywhere."

"I can't ask you that," Sasuke whispered. He ran his hands up Naruto's back and entangled his fingers in his hair.

"And I love you even more for it."

Sasuke closed his eyes and kissed him passionately. He led the kiss, exploring Naruto's mouth and teasing his tongue gently. Then Naruto took over, and pulled away only so that he could help Sasuke out of his shirt. He pushed him to the couch and started trailing kisses along his jaw and neck. Sasuke moaned and tilted his head back to grant him a better access.

Sasuke then helped him out of his shirt, so that he could run his hands on Naruto's smooth back. The latter was almost aggressive as he grinded into him and kissed his neck. He then lowered himself and pleasured Sasuke by licking and biting his nipples. He lowered himself even more to kiss his stomach, and then he pulled away to take off his pants and boxers. He grabbed Sasuke's erection with his hand and started stroking it, and at the same time he leaned closer to kiss his lips fiercely.

"You're so intense, Naruto," Sasuke whispered when they pulled away.

"I've been waiting for this," he smirked, "remember what I told you last time?"

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. Of course, he remembered now. _Next time I top_, Naruto had said.

Naruto's smirk widened.

He stood to take off his own pants and boxers, and then he climbed on top of Sasuke once more. He positioned himself at Sasuke's entrance.

"Naruto, wait…" he said, crawling away from the blond reflexively. "I'm not ready…"

The blond looked very disappointed, and Sasuke immediately corrected himself.

"No, I mean, I'm ready but… can't we… like…" He bit his lip, hesitating.

"What is it?" Naruto asked softly.

"Do you think Kakashi has lube or something?"

Naruto made a face. "I don't really wanna look through his stuff…"

"…Me neither," Sasuke admitted.

"I know, I'll do the same thing you did for me."

"You don't have to if you don't want to…" Sasuke said, but Naruto was already licking his fingers. "That's hot," Sasuke whispered.

Naruto grinned. He brought his finger to his entrance and started stretching him. It was uncomfortable, but it didn't hurt. Not yet, anyway. They continued kissing and caressing each other. When Naruto entered two, and then three fingers, it hurt, but Sasuke didn't complain.

When Naruto's cock slid inside him though, he couldn't repress a loud moan of pain.

"I'm sorry!" Naruto immediately leaned closer to wrap his arms around him, and kiss him everywhere. "I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay…"

"No it's not, I hurt you," Naruto said sadly.

"Just… try moving."

Naruto nodded and complied. He soon clearly lost himself in pleasure. Sasuke himself started feeling pleasure when Naruto thrust in just the right angle, but it was mixed with pain. He caressed Naruto's toned hips to distract himself. He liked the feel of the soft, tan skin as he trailed up Naruto's sides. He slid his arms behind him and pulled him close. They kissed and then Naruto increased his pace.

"You feel so good Sasuke…"

"Hmm… Naruto," he moaned, although it was still a mix of both pleasure and pain.

But somehow he liked it anyway. He loved the fact that they were joined together, that he was giving himself to Naruto, unlike he had ever done before.

"I love you Naruto," he whispered, "you're the only one…"

"The only one?" Naruto breathed against his lips as he continued thrusting inside him.

Sasuke arched his back slightly, and locked eyes with Naruto. "The only one who can make me feel like this…"

"How do you feel?" the blond whispered.

"Happy… complete…"

Naruto smiled, "Me too…"

They stayed silent as they reached climax together. Naruto fell on top of him and they held each other close, breathing hard. Sasuke loved Naruto's scent, even with the thin film of sweat covering his skin. He caressed his messy blond hair lovingly.

"How about a shower?" Naruto asked.

"I'd like that."

In the shower they were soft and gentle with each other. They cleaned each other slowly, tenderly, enjoying this moment together. They knew all too well that soon Naruto would have to go. He would go on missions, and Sasuke would stay at the village, train and spend time with Kakashi. But it wasn't so bad, and at least Naruto would be able to visit him here. Sasuke made a note to self to thank Kakashi later. He didn't usually thank people, but he would make an exception. Kakashi was his ticket to a better life.

They cuddled up on the couch until Kakashi came back.

His first comment was, "Feels weird to have you guys in here. But I'll get used to it."

Naruto shrugged, and chuckled, "You'll have to get used to Sasuke, at least. But hey don't worry; he pretty much stays quiet all the time."

Sasuke raised a brow at him. Naruto ignored him.

"Hey Naruto, before I forget, Tsunade-sama wants to see you."

"Not so soon!" Naruto whined. "I wanted to stay with you a little longer," he whispered this time, addressing Sasuke of course.

The raven stood and followed him to the door. He wrapped his arms around him and kissed his neck.

"Be careful on missions all right?" he whispered in his ear, "I'm not out there to protect you anymore…"

Naruto snorted, "As if I need protection."

Sasuke made a little smile, and kissed his lips one last time. He watched as Naruto walked down the street, and closed the door. He turned to look at Kakashi. He was reading his new book.

Sasuke sighed, what to do now? Watching Kakashi read his book wasn't exactly entertaining.

"Should we go train?"

Kakashi finished his page, looked up from his book, and smiled behind his mask.

"I thought you'd never ask."


	15. Redemption

Chapter 14 – Redemption

When Tsunade informed Naruto of her decision to send a message to the other Kages concerning Sasuke, his eyes widened and he burst out angrily, "What the hell?"

"We have no choice!" she said, "Think about it. Either we tell them the truth now, or we hide it and they discover it later, making them lose our trust forever!"

Naruto frowned, but didn't reply. She did have a point…

"Can I at least go with the messengers to explain properly?" he finally asked.

"I already sent them."

"Damn you didn't lose any time…"

He suddenly felt very anxious. The other Kages wouldn't react well to those news. He had thought he would have a little bit more time before they learned of this.

"Also I have a mission for you," Tsunade said, changing the subject.

Naruto sighed, "All right, let's hear it."

xxx

Kakashi and Sasuke were training restlessly. They were producing lightning attacks side by side, comparing their powers, and they were fighting each other mostly with simple tai jutsu – because if they were to attack with ninjutsu they might have ended up killing each other. They were both fast and skilled of course, and their friendly matches often ended up in a draw.

"You've improved, Sasuke," Kakashi said at some point, panting as he sat in the grass, taking a break.

The raven was beside him, lying down on his back with an arm under his head.

"I've _improved_? Compared to what, when I was 12 years old? That's kind of an understatement, Kakashi."

His silver-haired sensei chuckled, "I miss the other, nicer you. He actually used the honorifics."

"Whatever. And it wasn't an 'other me' but rather my mind was playing tricks on me."

"You sure were different."

"Guess I can't argue with that. But enough talking, let's have our rematch."

Kakashi smiled behind his mask as he stood. "Fine by me."

Sasuke smirked, producing a kunai. "Why don't we take things to the next level?"

They continued fighting for hours. At the end of the day Sasuke was exhausted, but he felt good. It was nice training with Kakashi. It brought back old memories. And those were good ones, at least.

When they got back to Kakashi's small house there was a message on the porch. Sasuke picked it up; it was Naruto's handwriting.

_Hey guys, _

_I don't have much time but I wanted to at least leave a note. I'm going to the South with Yamato and Sai to help rebuild a village that was destroyed __by some stupid internal war or whatever. I wasn't really listening to Tsunade. I suspect she wants to keep me away from Konoha to make sure you're faithful even when I'm not there, Sasuke. So don't you disappoint me. Just kidding… I know you won't. I'll be back soon, I love you._

_Naruto_

"Well, I hope he's right," Kakashi said. He had been reading over his shoulder.

"About what? Being back soon, or me not disappointing him?"

"I'll let you guess," he said half-teasing.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I'm not gonna attack anyone Kakashi. Just go talk to Sakura if you need reassurance. She'll tell you how I'm not consumed by hatred anymore and you two can have a blast talking about that."

She walked in the house and went straight to the bathroom to take a shower.

He heard Kakashi say, "You should try not to piss me off, I hope you know that."

Sasuke felt guilty at those words, and he decided he would try to apologize later – maybe.

When they had both showered they ate some rice and fish Kakashi had prepared. They ate in silence, and Kakashi was amused when Sasuke kept staring at his face.

"What?"

"You know perfectly well what, moron. I've never even seen your face before."

Kakashi was quite handsome, actually, and there was nothing wrong with his face. But Sasuke chose not to ask why he was wearing a mask, before he knew his sensei wouldn't answer him anyway. He probably just wanted to have a stupid style or something. Besides, it wasn't like him to ask questions like that – he'd leave that job to Naruto.

"Not from lack of trying," Kakashi finally said. He still had an amused smile on his lips.

Sasuke's lips also twitched at the memory of Naruto convincing him to try to see Kakashi's face.

"Naruto and his stupid ideas."

"You went along with it," Kakshi pointed out.

"I did."

They were silent again after that. But it wasn't awkward; Sasuke just wasn't much of a talker, and for Kakashi it was the same.

After the meal they simply sat in the living room. Kakashi was unsurprisingly reading a hentai book. Sasuke decided to imitate him, more out of boredom than anything. But he realized it was way too hard to concentrate on the stupid love story. He'd rather think about Naruto… Not that his mind gave him a choice, anyway. His thoughts kept drifting to his boyfriend. He was far away now, and Sasuke felt a pang in his heart. Naruto could be in danger at this very moment, and he was way too far to help.

He had been staying always close to Naruto, all those weeks he had been wandering as a criminal. And now, ironically he had been accepted back into the village, yet he couldn't be with him.

"Something on your mind?" Kakashi suddenly asked.

Sasuke snapped out of it, and looked at his sensei. "No, I'm fine."

"Come on, you can talk to me. I'm an expert when it comes to love," he held up his book as if it were relevant proof. Sasuke actually chuckled.

"…Right."

"Seriously, what's the matter? You miss Naruto?"

"How'd you know I was thinking about him?"

Kakashi raised a brow. "Don't take me for an idiot."

Sasuke sighed, "Yeah I fucking miss him. I'm worried about him, I don't like that he's gone and that I have to stay here. Happy now?"

"Don't worry," Kakashi said softly, "you more than anyone should know that Naruto can take care of himself all right."

"I know that…"

xxx

Two days later, at night, Naruto, Sai and Yamato were sitting around their camp fire. They had just finished eating, and they would go to sleep soon. But first, Yamato wanted to say something as the mission leader.

"We have to stay longer."

Naruto sighed. He had anticipated Yamato would say that. Of course, his only wish was to go back to Sasuke as soon as possible to see how he was doing. He didn't like being away from him. It was like a part of him was missing – and it was a painful reminder of all those years they had been apart.

"I agree," Sai said, "these people need us. The village is still a total mess."

"Naruto?" Yamato turned to look at him.

The blond glanced away; Yamato's eyes were creepy.

"Yeah, whatever…"

"Such enthusiasm," Yamato said sarcastically, "anyway, I'll go to sleep now I'm exhausted. Good night guys. We still have a lot of work tomorrow."

Naruot tried to sleep, but he couldn't. He kept tossing and turning and his eyes were wide open as he looked at the starry sky. He kept thinking about Sasuke. What if the shinobi against his return combined forces to take him down? Naruto wouldn't even be around to protect him…

At some point he got up to take a walk in the forest. His fingers brushed against the leaves of the trees as he made his way to a small stream of water. He sat and leaned against a big rock, taking off his green jacket and headband to be more comfortable.

"What are you doing, Sai?" he asked as he sensed his friend's presence.

"Thought you might want some company," he answered as he came to sit beside him.

"I'm fine… You should go back to Yamato."

"He's asleep; he won't even notice we're gone…"

Sai leaned closer and tried to put his arm around Naruto's shoulders, but the latter pushed him away.

"You really need to stop doing that!" he said angrily.

"Naruto let me comfort you," Sai insisted.

"I said I was fine!"

"No you're not. You're a terrible liar."

"Look," Naruto sighed heavily, "I'm worried about Sasuke, and I miss him. There, I said it."

"You really love him, don't you?" Sai asked with a hint of sadness behind the ever emotionless tone.

Naruto glanced away, and didn't reply.

"I'd just like you to consider your other options," Sai continued.

The blond frowned, "What?"

"There are other people, who really like you Naruto. Sasuke is not the best choice."

"Why are you telling me this Sai? My choice is already made. It's always been him, and it will always be, and you know it."

Naruto knew he was being harsh, but he needed Sai to stop being so persistent. He wanted him to move on.

"All right," Sai said slowly, moving away from him. "I guess I'll leave you alone, then."

He got up and walked away. Naruto sighed once more as he glanced at the water. He only missed Sasuke even more now. He needed him – needed to hold him close, to kiss him, to be near him.

Stupid mission, he thought. He really hoped it would be over soon.

xxx

Kakashi and Sasuke were training yet again. It had been five days since Naruto had gone on his mission. Sasuke's only visitors were Suigetsu, Jugo and Karin. But now they were gone on a mission as well. It seemed Tsunade wanted Kakashi and Sasuke to stay at the village though, because she had not asked to see them yet. So they kept on with their new favorite hobby; training together.

Their newest thing was to combine their lightning attacks together to create one even more powerful. It was really quite bad ass, actually, and they were having a lot of fun. They were also destroying a lot of trees – Yamato really needed to come back soon so he could rebuild those.

Sasuke liked training with Kakashi. Those were the only times he could stop worrying so much about Naruto, because he was focused on his chakra, and his attacks. But in the evening it was hard, because he was stuck in Kakashi's house with nothing to do, and way too much time to think.

That night he was restless. He pulled the blanket away and got up from the couch. It was very late in the night and Kakashi was sleeping, so why not sneak out? No one would notice him…

Sasuke knew it was only temporary, but he still enjoyed this little moment of freedom. He stayed away from the middle of the village, instead he walked in the woods separating Kakashi's house from the training grounds they had been visiting for the past five days.

He was only beginning to relax when he noticed there were people following him. Not good – not good at all. They were from Konoha, so he couldn't attack them. He didn't want to risk disappointing Naruto, or worst, losing him. He felt like the blond's love for him was conditional; if he hurt the villagers, it would be over.

They were Anbu members, from the looks of it. There were five of them. They had the advantage; Sasuke was unharmed, and unwilling to use ninjutsu or genjutsu for fear to hurt them and be exiled from the village again.

"What the hell do you want?" he asked, trying to keep his cool.

But it was hard to keep his cool when they quickly proceeded to encircle him. He frowned as he looked at each of them, as if he could read their intentions on those masked faces.

As they closed in on him he could feel his chakra being drained really quickly. What the hell? Was one of them performing a technique? He gathered his strength and jumped up to get away from them. But it didn't work. It was as if his head hit something really hard, and he fell back to the ground with a pained groan. He had no choice now. Even if they would possibly see this as a treat and throw him in jail, he activated his sharingan.

He saw it all. He saw the shield of chakra surrounding them, produced by one of the men. It was draining only him, and redirecting his life force and chakra to the others equally. They weren't from Konoha; these were disguises. How could he have been deceived so easily?

He saw it all, but it was too late. They attacked at once, except for the one who kept up his barrier. Sasuke managed to dodge the first two, but then he felt a blade pierce through his defense. His first reflex was to clutch his stomach to stop the blood from pouring out of the wound. They continued hitting him as he fell to the ground. The last things he heard before passing out were them mocking him.

"I can't believe our plan worked that easily. Guess that guy's really trying to get on Konoha's good side."

"Yeah whatever he's just lucky the Raikage wants him alive. He deserves to die for what he did to the Raikage and his brother."

"Oh don't worry he'll die. Raikage-sama will make it a public execution to show an example to the world. It's the right thing to do. Not like that stupid Hokage…"

"I hear ya. Anyway, let's go…"

xxx

When Naruto came back to the village – finally – he knew something was wrong. Whenever he walked by a friend they were adverting their eyes, as if they were hiding something from him. He walked faster towards the Hokage's building, with Yamato and Sai having a hard time keeping up with him.

When he burst in her office he cut straight to the point, "Tsunade what's going on? I just came back from the mission and everyone's avoiding me instead of greeting me. Did Sasuke do something? Tell me!"

"Calm down, Naruto!" she exclaimed with authority.

On the meantime Sai and Yamato had joined them, too.

"First the mission report, and then I'll talk to Naruto alone."

Naruto let his two friends talk. He clenched his fists as he waited. She was testing his patience, but there was nothing he could do about it. Sai probably noticed he was on edge, because he finished the report quickly.

"I've got nothing to add, Yamato said it all. The villagers are happy with our work and they are grateful to you, Hokage-sama."

"Thank you, that will be all."

Naruto let out a shaky sigh as he waited for Yamato and Sai to leave the room. He looked up at her.

"Please…"

She glanced away, "First of all I need to tell you that all the Kages have agreed to my conditions to rehabilitate Sasuke – all but one."

"Why am I not surprised? It's the Raikage, right?"

"Yes. And two days ago Sasuke disappeared. Most people think he's run away again, but I can put two and two together…"

"He wouldn't run away!" Naruto interrupted her, "I know he wouldn't."

"I know, Naruto," she said patiently, "I just told you, I know better."

"What do you mean?" he asked anxiously.

"I think the Raikage has sent men to either kill Sasuke, or capture him. Let's hope it's the latter."

"How could they… Sasuke's too powerful…"

"My theory is that they tricked him to believe they were from around here. Let's face it, Sasuke hasn't lived here in years. He doesn't know the villagers or the shinobi that well. That's probably why Sasuke didn't fight back."

Naruto's heart sank. She was right…

"I'm going to save him."

To his surprise, she simply nodded.

"My only condition is that you take Kakashi with you, and maybe one or two others. Be careful, Naruto."

"Thank you," he said, and then he was gone.

xxx

When Sasuke woke up he was lying down on a cold, stone floor. He was blindfolded and tied up with chakra sucking ropes and it was just like when Kabuto had captured him all over again. Even if he hadn't been tied up he probably wouldn't have been able to go far; he was badly hurt, and his wound had not been treated. He had lost too much blood.

As he drifted in and out of sleep he could hear some people talking – the guards of this jail, he assumed.

Their conversations always seemed to go back to one subject; the Raikage's brother, Killer Bee. From what Sasuke gathered there was some sort of anti-jinchuriki movement going on, and they wanted to destroy Bee and Naruto so that something like Akatsuki never happened again. And apparently they had managed to capture the eight-tails so far.

He didn't know how much time had passed. But he did know that he didn't have much time before he died of blood loss or infection – and he didn't want to die in such a pathetic way. This was his chance.

So at some point he said, "Let me do it."

He heard them whisper.

"Did he just say something?"

"What the hell? I thought he was unconscious."

"Let's go closer…"

"No! It's too dangerous!"

"Uchiha, you awake?"

"Let me save the Raikage's brother. I can do it," Sasuke said. He managed to sit up, and lean against the wall.

"You expect us to trust you?" a mocking voice said.

"No," he said, "but what choice do you have? They're gonna kill him, right? It's only a matter of time. If I use my mangekyou, I can destroy them in a second. And your precious eight-tails is saved."

"What's a mangekyou?"

"Shut up," another said. "Uchiha, what's in it for you?"

"I just wanna get out of here. I help you, you help me. End of the story."

"We can't trust him…"

"But the Raikage's our friend, we have to help him! This might be our only chance…"

Sasuke heard the door being unlocked. A man approached him. Sasuke could sense his fear.

"I'm not gonna hurt you. Like I said, I just wanna get out of here."

"Don't," another one said from further behind, "it's too dangerous…"

But the man didn't listen, and he took off Sasuke's blindfold. The latter opened his dark grey eyes, and tried to look at the other firmly, fooling him into thinking he was still strong. The truth was, Sasuke had no idea if he had enough strength left to do this. If these anti-jinchuriki assholes were strong enough to take down the eight-tails…

He looked at the others. There were four, and they were all looking at him in fear.

"Just keep me tied up in those ropes for now if you want. That way I can't possibly hurt you. Let's go now."

The man sitting in front of Sasuke looked at one of his friends.

"Can you stay here to keep an eye on this section's prisoners while we're gone?"

He nodded. Sasuke's saviour looked at the two others, and the raven followed his gaze, hopeful.

"It's too dangerous," one of them said for the third time now.

The one beside him was hesitating, "But he's right it could be our only chance to save Bee…"

"We have to tell the Raikage about this first."

"No! We don't have time! You know how stubborn he is. I don't mean to be disrespectful, I'm just stating the facts. He'll wait too long and Bee will already be dead."

"You may have a point…"

While they were arguing the other guy was helping Sasuke to his feet.

"I'm Kiro, by the way," he said, "this is Ren," he pointed at the 'it's too dangerous' guy, "and this is Hashi. We're close friends of Bee, and we want to save him."

"Good," Sasuke said, "I'm not gonna lie to you. I don't care about him. But I have nothing against him, either. When I attacked him back before the war they were Madara's orders, and I had no choice." Now all three of them were looking at him intently, this was his only chance. "But I want to help you so you can help me in return. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes," Kiro said. He let go of him, and Sasuke flinched, but held his ground.

That Ren guy was still hesitating, "How do we know you're not just gonna escape?"

"I'm still tied up," Sasuke said, annoyed.

The third one was staring at him, his eyes narrowed, "And I don't think he'd go far anyway. I mean, are you sure you're in good enough shape to do this?"

"Yes," Sasuke lied.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Kiro led him out of the cell, and down the hallway. The two others followed.

"You know where their hideout is?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah," the one called Hashi answered, "but they're guarding it with powerful ninja. No one has been able to go past them."

"What's their fighting style?"

"Fire. We can't get to them. Their flames surround them and somehow they're not hurt by it."

"I doubt they'll survive _my_ flames," Sasuke said darkly. Then he asked, "There's something I don't get. From the way you guys were talking, it seems as if those idiots want to kill the Jinchuriki so that nothing like Akatsuki happens again. But aren't they doing _exactly_ the same thing as the Akatsuki by capturing them?"

"You have a point," Kiro sighed, "and if they haven't killed him yet – and I really hope they haven't – it means that they're trying to figure out how to extract the beast and get its power for themselves, right?"

"Probably…" the two others agreed.

"Then I guess no one's gonna suffer from their loss," Sasuke said.

"I'm starting to like you," Kiro said with a little smile.

They walked out of the building by an emergency exit. It was night, and they went unnoticed. The three started running. The strongest of them was Hashi – the guy was almost as big as the Raikage – so he carried Sasuke on his back to ensure that he wouldn't just escape. It was humiliating, but at the same time Sasuke doubted he would have been able to run that fast with his untreated injury.

"I can't believe we trust a psycho like him," Ren muttered at some point. The others ignored him.

xxx

Naruto and Kakashi had decided to go alone at first, but then Sakura had intercepted them. She had insisted to go with them. She'd had tears in her eyes as she reminded them they were a team, and they would always be.

So here they were after hours and hours of restless running, having finally reached the hidden Cloud village. They went straight to the Raikage's building, even though it was quite late in the night. Thankfully he was still up and working in his office. Actually he looked extremely tired and upset. But Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura weren't here to inquire on the Raikage's health.

"Where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked as soon as they were let in his office.

"In jail! Where he should be," The raikage almost yelled, "Who let you guys in anyway?"

"We're bringing him back to Konoha, and that's final," Sakura said, "you can't just send men to capture someone like that without discussing it with our Hokage!"

"Guys, calm down," Kakashi started.

"This isn't a time to be calm, Kakashi-sensei, I'm sorry," Naruto said.

"For once he's right," Sakura agreed, "Raikage-sama, bring us to Sasuke, please, I'm begging you."

"I'll bring you to him if you want," he said, annoyed, "but it's only so that you can say goodbye. He's gonna be executed tomorrow, this is the only possibility for a rogue ninja and you know it."

Naruto was about to burst out again, but Kakashi put his hand on his arm. The blond looked up at his sensei, and remembered what he had said while they were running. _Don't do anything to upset the Raikage. We'll get Sasuke back no matter what._

So Naruto and Sakura forced themselves to stay calm, and followed the Raikage and Kakashi outside the building.

As they walked in the deserted street the Raikage addressed Naruto, although reluctantly.

"I know we're not exactly on good terms, but I thought I should warn you. There's a new group that's after the Jinchuriki out there. No one really knows more details than that, we can only make assumptions…"

"Don't tell me!" Sakura exclaimed in fear, "It's like the Akatsuki all over again!"

"I just thought I should warn you," the raikage said, "They already got Bee."

"What?" Naruto burst out, "we have to help him!"

"Don't you think I tried already? My best ninjas have died trying!"

Naruto swallowed hard. It wasn't a good idea to trigger the Raikage's anger for now. But he _would_ save Bee after they got Sasuke back; he had already made his decision. The eight-tails was a dear friend of his, and the only other jinchuriki left. Naruto couldn't let him die.

As they entered the jail building Kakashi asked, "Why haven't you told the Hokage about this?"

The Raikage was fuming, "I don't trust you Konoha people anymore! Not after you allowed Uchiha to wander around freely!"

"But he wasn't!" Sakura protested, "He was under house arrest…"

But the Raikage wasn't even listening to her. And actually, they stopped short when they saw that a couple of guards were in panic.

"What is it?" the Raikage yelled.

"It's Uchiha… he… he's gone!"

It was as if acknowledging this fact made these men panic even more. And the Raikage's anger seemed to have no limits.

"Where? How? Answer me!"

"Raikage-sama," a calm voice was suddenly heard through all the fuss, "I know where he went. He's with Kiro and two others."

The Raikage took the man by the collar and pushed him against the wall roughly, "Where did they go?"

"Calm down, Raikage-sama," Kakashi said, but he was ignored.

The guard was almost choking. Naruto was about to step in to save him when the Raikage loosened his grip.

He was finally able to talk, "They went to save your brother, Raikage-sama."

Everyone's faces expressed shock and wonder. Naruto and Sakura exchanged a glance.

"Do you think it's true?" Sakura asked him.

"I don't know," Naruto frowned, "but there's only one way to find out."

"Naruto's right," Kakashi said, "Raikage-sama, please lead us to these rebels who captured your brother. We'll see the situation for ourselves."

It took a few moments for the Raikage to overcome the shock, and process the information. Then, unsurprisingly, he started yelling again.

"You fools! It's so obvious he just killed my men and escaped! Guards, go after him, now!"

"Who's gonna stay to guard the prisoners?" Sakura whispered.

"Not our problem I guess," Naruto said in an equally low voice.

As the guards ran towards the exit, respecting the Raikage's orders, Kakashi stepped closer to him and insisted.

"You have to tell us where that hideout is. What have you got to lose? We can help you save your brother."

He growled, and finally complied, "Fine, we're going, follow me."

xxx

"You have to untie me," Sasuke said urgently, "I can tell we're close. I can feel their power."

The three prison guards stopped.

"He's right," Kiro said, "we have to untie him so he gets his chakra back."

"It's too…" Ren started.

"Oh shut up," Kiro interrupted.

Hashi let Sasuke down and used a kunai to cut the ropes. Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut for a short moment, and breathed deeply. He already felt better. His chakra could start replenishing now.

"Thanks," he said, opening his eyes again, "let's go."

They seemed to trust him fully now. They simply let him walk on his own. His whole body hurt, and his wound was bleeding again, but he managed to keep up with their pace. Sasuke only hoped his strength wouldn't fail him. He had to do this. Somehow he knew. It was the right thing to do. It was what Naruto would want him to do.

Damn, the blond was so rubbing off on him, he thought with an almost smile. Here he was, helping people he didn't even care about. But he'd do anything for freedom. And most of all, he'd do anything for Naruto – to have his love, and maybe, just maybe, deserve it.

When they came to a halt he focused on the chakra he had regained. It had to be enough… it had to.

Also sensing their presence their opponents suddenly seemed to appear out of nowhere. There were fifteen, maybe even more, Sasuke couldn't be sure.

"What do we do now?" Ren asked urgently, "they already know we're here! If your plan was to make a surprise attack, then forget it!"

"I never said I had a plan," Sasuke whispered.

"What!" Ren exclaimed in fear, "Oh great, we're as good as dead now…"

Sasuke ignored him and walked towards the opponents, activating his mangekyou sharingan. He felt the power fill him, the legacy that Itachi had left him flowing through him, and taking away the pain. He smirked. He could do this. Even hurt, weakened, he was still more powerful than any of those idiots.

"Let's go," Kiro said behind him, and the two others followed reluctantly.

The men in front of them suddenly produced brilliant red flames. This fire surrounded them, protecting them, and Sasuke and the others could feel its heat even though they were still far.

"See that's what we were talking about," Kiro told him, "they're experts at manipulating fire. No one can beat them."

"We'll see about that," Sasuke said.

Suddenly a giant fire was advancing towards them. Sasuke knew the three others had backed away, but he didn't move.

"_Amaterasu_," he whispered, and watched as the black flames engulfed the red ones.

Then he focused to control the black flames, he used all of his power to throw them at the opponents. It consumed their protection, and it burned all of them as they were screaming in pain. Sasuke was already panting, and his legs were shaking, but he kept sending the rest of his life force and chakra to his black flames. He couldn't back down now.

But suddenly a few more people came out of what Sasuke now realized was the entrance of a cave in the bumpy ground. And the eight-tails was with them. They held him powerless and tied up.

"Stop!" one of the opponents shouted, "We don't want to kill him, we just want his power!"

Behind Sasuke, Kiro hissed, "As if we'll believe you. Extracting the power of the beast will kill him, everyone knows that!"

"If you use the black flames on us he'll die, too!" Another yelled as a last resort.

Sasuke smirked. Apparently they had no idea of what he was capable of. They didn't know to what extent he could control the Amaterasu. He walked towards them, trying to keep his legs from flinching. When he was close enough he concentrated, and produced a wall of black flames around Bee, shielding him. The ones who were holding him pulled away, screaming in pain as their arms were burned completely.

With a pained groan Sasuke sent the rest of his strength into the attack. He fell to his knees as the flames incapacitated the enemies completely. He wasn't sure all of them were dead, but if they weren't, they wouldn't be in any condition to fight any time soon. With his chakra and energy completely drained, the black flames disappeared.

He let himself collapse on the ground. He watched, his vision a little blurry, as the three prison guards ran to Bee. They untied him and hugged him happily. Great, Sasuke thought as he rolled on his side, clutching his ripped off shirt, now he was too weak to go back to Konoha. And these ungrateful bastards weren't even thanking him.

If they sent him back to jail, Sasuke decided, he would kill them. Fuck being nice, he had his limits.

But when he opened his eyes again Kiro was sitting beside him, holding his shoulder.

"Hey are you okay?"

"Yeah just… dying a little but… I'll be fine…"

Great now he was making jokes. That idiot didn't even laugh though. Some people seriously lacked sense of humor.

"We should have brought a medical ninja…" Kiro bit his lip.

Suddenly he looked up, and Sasuke frowned. Bee and the two others had interrupted their happy reunion. They heard a loud growl in the distance.

"Bee! How could you let yourself get captured! You had me worried damn it! You should be stronger than that…!"

The Raikage. How great, Sasuke thought. Now he was going straight back to jail for sure. And now Bee was talking, or rapping, making weird and lame rhymes or whatever. Sasuke tried not to listen. He didn't want it to be the last thing he heard before dying. Kiro muttered something about having to explain to the Raikage, and he got up, leaving Sasuke alone. Not that he cared…

But suddenly another voice was heard, "Sasuke!"

Now that, that was a voice Sasuke wouldn't mind hearing one last time before dying. Next thing he knew he was pulled up in a hug. Naruto, Naruto with his messy blond hair and tears in his blue eyes, with his soft lips kissing him, with his arms holding him tight and his hand brushing his black locks out of his face.

When Naruto looked down his eyes widened in horror. His shirt was stained with Sasuke's blood.

"Sasuke you're hurt!"

The Raikage stepped towards them, "And I'll finish him off!"

Naruto immediately got up and shouted, "You back the fuck off, now!"

Sasuke fell back on the ground, and he would have laughed, except he didn't even have enough energy for that.

In an instant, Naruto was by his side again. He took off his shirt and pressed it against Sasuke's stomach to stop the bleeding.

"How can I still have blood in my body," Sasuke whispered.

"Don't talk."

Bee put himself between them and his brother. "He saved my life! I'm not gonna let you hurt him…"

Sasuke didn't hear the rest of his sentence. The world was slowly fading to black.

"Stay awake!" Naruto said urgently, "I need you to stay awake just a little longer all right? For me…"

"Okay," Sasuke whispered.

"Sakura and Kakashi are on their way. They couldn't keep up with the Raikage and I, but they should be here soon. And Sakura can heal you."

"Okay," he simply whispered again.

The rest of the world stopped existing. There was only Naruto and him, and that was it. It was all that mattered.

…

When he heard a feminine gasp he knew that Sakura was by his side, too. He didn't know how much time had passed. As she healed his body he felt some energy coming back. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep him alive, at least. When she was done she was weak, as well. Kakashi helped her up.

Naruto locked eyes with him, "Can you stand?"

Sasuke frowned as he looked around him. "Where is everyone?"

"They're gone," Kakashi said, "you were passed out. The Raikage called a truce. He's not gonna go after you again."

"You're safe now, it's over," Sakura said, smiling, as she leaned against Kakashi.

"Come on," Naruto said softly as he helped him to his feet.

He felt a little better now. At least he would be able to walk, maybe even run. It was a good thing; he didn't want to stay in this god forsaken place…

He locked eyes with Naruto, eyes so blue, so caring, so loving, an anchor in the dark – as always.

"I wanna go home," he whispered.

Slowly a smile formed on Naruto's lips. His eyes never left Sasuke's. He nodded ever so slightly, and then wrapped his arms around him. They held each other fiercely, so close, never wanting to let go again.

* * *

><p>Author's note: Thanks for the support for this story. Honestly, when I started it, I didn't really know how it would end. This is one of those stories where I just... kinda improvised a little. But I'm glad it ended like this - i hope you are, too.<p>

Actually I had lost inspiration recently, but I realized there was no point in continuing the story for too many chapters. So I decided to write one big chapter to end it while it was still good, you know, I didn't want to drag it on endlessly. I really hope you enjoyed it!

So hey, let's just hope things don't end too badly for Sasuke in the manga. I love this character, and I'm glad I wrote a story about him - although I admit, mine is a little different than Kishimoto's, that's my personal touch I guess. But Kishi's the man, and I can't wait to see what happens with his story. On the meantime, thanks for enjoying this fanfic^^


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